


From Another Time

by kittyface27



Series: In Denial About Marineford [5]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Anime, Confusion, Drama, Family, Fix It, Friendship, Future Seeing, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Long, Loop, Maybe Time Travel, Memories, Mystery, One Piece - Freeform, Plot Twists, Reborn - Freeform, Reincarnation, Shirohige Kaizoku-dan | Whitebeard Pirates, Surprises, Suspense, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 80,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25354222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyface27/pseuds/kittyface27
Summary: When Ace wakes up on the Moby Dick for the first time, so many things feel familiar. Some names, faces, events. But he doesn't remember the past two years of his life, or the names and faces of his old crew. Memories that he never lived through keep coming, talents he'd never learned appear. Everything feels so wrong, but at the same time, has never felt more right.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Portgas D. Ace, Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco & Portgas D. Ace & Thatch, Masked Deuce & Portgas D. Ace, Portgas D. Ace & Thatch, Portgas D. Ace & Whitebeard Pirates, Spade Pirates & Portgas D. Ace
Series: In Denial About Marineford [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683358
Comments: 110
Kudos: 313
Collections: Pyro's Faves





	1. Strange and Familiar

**Another fix it story, but a LOT different from my other ones. There's a lot of angst for Ace in this one for various reasons that will become clear later. Also some mystery about why Ace does what he does. I hope everyone enjoys it, it's almost 80,000 words (done but not fully edited at this time. 200+ pages sucks to edit -_-) So, enjoy~**

* * *

Ace's gray eyes opened slowly, feeling slightly ill. The first thing he realized was that his head hurt, and the next was that he was in a dark room, feeling sore and achy. He sat up slowly, feeling the bandages on his chest, but knowing whatever wounds he had weren't too bad, or had healed a lot already.

Where was he? _Moby Dick._ He looked around, confused as to where he was. What was the Moby Dick? How did he know where he was? He sat up further, and swung his legs out of bed. _Home._ Why was he thinking this was home? Where was home? His ship… what ship? Deuce… who was Deuce? He was so confused, not knowing what was going on.

Why were his thoughts so jumbled? Best to figure out firsthand where he was and what was going on instead of trying to sort out confusing thoughts. Maybe it was from his headache. Hopefully it would go away soon.

He stood and found his boots by the door, putting them on before walking outside. He was indeed on a ship, but he was a pirate, so what was weird about that? He was a pirate. _Commander…_ no, captain. He was a captain. What was a commander? Why was he thinking like this? Was he drugged? He hoped not.

He walked into the bright sunlight, but it didn't cause his headache to get worse, thankfully. He stood at the railing, looking at the endless horizon, seeing from this side that there was no island in view. He sat down against the railing, back leaning against it and putting his head in his hands, trying to think.

What was going on? He felt… wrong. He felt confused, when he knew he shouldn't be. Should he? He didn't remember much of what happened the day before, or how he got here. He was distracted from his confused thoughts when someone walked over to him, smiling.

"Yo, I'm-" the guy started to say, and Ace knew him somehow. He didn't remember meeting him, but knew his name.

"Thatch…" Thatch looked surprised with Ace knowing his name, confused, but interested. He sat on the railing, looking at Ace in intrigue. The young captain didn't know why, all he'd said was his name. Surely he'd told him before. Why would Ace know his name otherwise?

"Yeah… How'd you know my name?" the guy asked curiously, not a trace of suspicion in his voice. Ace looked at his feet, his head in his hands again. He answered honestly.

"I… I don't know," he said quietly, but loud enough for Thatch to hear. Thatch looked even more interested. He asked if he remembered what had happened a few days before, since Ace was clearly confused, looking lost. He didn't sound like he was pitying Ace, which he was grateful for. Ace didn't like pity, it made him angry and feel weak. "No. What happened?" he asked.

Thatch started to look concerned. "You got in a battle with Pops, got pretty injured. We took you onto this ship, the Moby Dick," he explained slowly. Ace looked back down, trying to remember what happened. Why the hell couldn't he remember two days ago? It was… two days ago. He should remember.

Now he was really worried.

"Perhaps you hit your head in the fight?" Thatch suggested. That didn't seem right. Why would a head injury make Ace know Thatch's name? He looked around, seeming to recognize where he was, but still couldn't remember the day before. He didn't remember the fight that had injured him.

Ace shook his head. "I don't think that's it… I feel weird," Ace said. Thatch commented that he was acting much different than the day before, when he was angry and defiant. "I was? Why?"

Thatch said, "You got in a battle with Pops and he offered for you to join us. You were really pissy about it! It was funny. Then you passed out so we took you and your crew. They're okay. A little bruised, but nothing too bad," Thatch explained. "How about we get your head checked out? Maybe you can get some meds to help out?" He sounded very friendly. _Friend… Thatch is my friend._

But he didn't remember meeting him. Why would they be friends already? Ace didn't remember ever making friends easily. At least he remembered himself. He remembered Luffy and Sabo, but nothing in the near past. Not his last adventure with his crew. He didn't even remember the names and faces of them, which made him horrified.

Well, he remembered one. With blue hair and a mask. Deuce. At least he remembered somebody. Ace stood up and walked with Thatch through the ship, people looking at him strangely, probably because he was holding his head again, like that would help him think straight - normally.

He didn't notice walking in front of Thatch through the ship and to the infirmary. He didn't even notice he knew where he was going. Thatch did, though. "Hey, how do you know where to go?" he asked in pure curiosity and confusion. Ace frowned, and asked what he meant. "You're walking straight to the infirmary, but you've never been on this ship before! I think we'd know if you'd been on here before."

Ace looked down and then around. "I feel weird. Like I've been here before, but I don't remember when. I don't remember ever visiting here before," Ace said honestly. He thought he wouldn't have talked like this to a stranger. _Thatch is my friend._ No, he's not. You don't know him.

"Hmmm… maybe you're from the future!" Thatch exclaimed. Ace looked at him in disbelief. He said he doubted that, pointing out that he didn't have a devil fruit like that. "Well, that's true. I guess we'll just see what happens next. C'mon, let's go get your head checked out." Ace nodded, and this time followed behind Thatch.

As he walked past people in the halls, faces looked familiar, but he couldn't remember names. But just as soon as he recognized the faces, they seemed to fall out of his head. Only Thatch didn't. He remembered his name, and the feeling of friendship, but not much else.

He did remember the name of one huge guy that walked past him. _Jozu._ But the word friend didn't surface for him. He might have recognized him from a wanted poster, but didn't know. He stared at him as he walked past, with the large man looking at him strangely before passing. Probably because Ace was openly staring at him.

When they entered the infirmary, Ace sat on the nearest bed. "You, Whiskey! Ace needs a check up," Thatch called. When the nurse came out, one word came through Ace's head, but not her name. _Scary._ Why would she be scary? She was a nurse, weren't doctors supposed to be nice?

"What's up?" she asked, sounding perfectly normal, not scary at all. Why had he thought that? Thatch explained that Ace might have hit his head and was confused, but didn't mention Ace's weird behavior. How he knew Thatch's name and where to go on the ship.

Whiskey got to checking Ace's head, looking for any trauma before giving him a quiz to see if he had a concussion. Thatch sat on a nearby bed, watching Ace with interest. It didn't bother Ace, Thatch was his friend. He couldn't get that feeling to go away, so he just accepted it. "Well, you seem perfectly fine to me. Maybe you're just tired. You do seem a little sleepy."

Ace said, "But, I'm confused."

Whiskey replied, "Being confused doesn't always mean you have a brain injury." Ace frowned, but didn't argue. _Scary._ He didn't argue again, even though the woman was being perfectly friendly. But Ace trusted that thought. Whiskey was scary, Ace didn't want to anger her, for some reason. He trusted that voice in his head, it sounded truthful, even though it confused him.

"Well, why don't we go get you something to eat first? You went through a five day battle with Jinbei! You have to be starving," Thatch offered. Ace didn't remember going through a battle like that. Five days? Well, he was impressed with himself if that was the truth. He nodded and stood up to follow Thatch.

Halfway through the walk, Thatch stepped behind Ace. "Do you know where the galley is?" he asked excitedly. Ace thought for a moment, before he nodded, saying he thought so. "Then lead the way." Ace nodded again, and walked them to the galley.

When they entered, there were some people eating, but not many. Just a handful scattered about the massive room with huge tables. He looked at one table in particular, and felt he should sit there. But he didn't, and followed Thatch to the kitchen, finding it was massive and had a long bar counter that Ace sat at.

"Man, you're interesting. You even knew how to get to the galley!" Thatch gushed. "Hmm, are you a spy?" Ace frowned.

"I don't think so," he replied honestly. Thatch laughed, saying it wasn't an answer a spy would give, so he crossed that thought out. He cooked Ace some chicken dish, and handed the massive plate to him, a huge amount of chicken over brown rice, drizzled with some kind of sauce. Ace ate it like a starving animal, just realizing he was famished.

Thatch handed him a large glass of lemonade, which Ace drank enthusiastically. He finished the plate in no time, and was full enough to not want seconds at the moment. His headache was still there, but slowly fading. The confusion was still front and center, though. "Sooo, can you recognize anyone in here?" Thatch asked, leaning on the counter with his elbows.

Ace turned around to look, feeling that same sort of recognition before they faded. Only one person stuck out. "Haruta," he said slowly.

"That's right! Hmm, I don't think I'll tell anyone about this. They might think you're a spy, even though I really doubt that. Maybe don't act like you know everybody. They might think it's suspicious," Thatch explained. Ace nodded, though he didn't know if he'd be able to do that. He hadn't even noticed he'd said Thatch's name.

Haruta - _friend-_ walked over, looking at Ace with a smile. "Hey, my name is Haruta. I'm the thirteenth division commander. Man, we've been looking for you for months! Didn't expect to find you fighting Jinbei, though," he said conversationally. Haruta stepped a foot into the kitchen. _Thatch's kitchen._

"Hey, my kitchen! You don't get in here!" Thatch said, kicking Haruta away.

"C'mon, do you think everyone in here just teleports food out of the fridge?" Haruta grumbled, rubbing his shin. "A-hole."

Thatch crossed his arms. "Well, as long as I'm here nobody but myself and my sous chefs get in here. You should know that by now. Dumbass," he said, though there wasn't too much anger in his voice, mostly sounding taunting.

Ace stood up, and said that he was going to try and sleep, surprising Haruta. "You've been sleeping for like, two days straight," he pointed out. Ace said he was still tired. "Why don't you talk to Pops first? Whitebeard."

The fire user started to sway, and he remembered he had narcolepsy. How could he forget that? But he was out like a light, head slamming into the table. Thatch shouted his name, and shook him, trying to wake him. Only he then noticed that he was asleep once he heard the snoring. "The hell?"

Haruta said, "Hey, Jonsi has this, right? Narcolepsy." Thatch frowned, and wondered why Ace hadn't said anything. But then he had a look of realization on, and looked concerned not much long after.

"Well, I'll take him to the room he'll be staying in for now," Thatch said. He picked Ace up and walked him back to his room. Ace didn't wake up on the way, but Thatch put him on his bed, and waited in the corner for him to wake.

He did, maybe ten minutes later, sitting up slowly. He saw Thatch in the corner. "You have narcolepsy?" he asked. Ace nodded, saying he forgot, and putting his head back in his hands. "Do you know other things you've forgotten?" he asked slowly, looking worried and wary.

Ace nodded, and sighed. "I can't remember the names and faces of my crew," he said quietly. "Only one, but I can't even remember meeting him, how we met." Thatch gasped, horrified and Ace flinched, feeling evil for forgetting his own crew. They were supposed to be his second family.

"I'm so sorry," Thatch replied quietly. Ace nodded, but was still curled up under the covers. "Is that all you can't remember?" he asked hesitantly, probably not wanting to make Ace even more upset. Ace shook his head, saying he couldn't remember forgetting anything else. He probably had.

Ace lamented, "I don't know what's wrong with me. You said I was acting a lot differently the other day?" Thatch nodded, saying he was a lot angrier, but the situation was a lot different. But that he had remembered the names of his crew, having told them to leave him to save them. "I can't face them. They'd be so hurt I forgot them."

Thatch nodded, agreeing. Ace wasn't hurt by that. Anyone would feel that was the truth. "Well, maybe after some time goes by, they'll come back to you. Why don't you rest in here for a bit? Then I can come get you to talk to Pops about what to do next?" Ace looked up, confused, and asked what they'd need to talk about. "About you joining. That's why we took you in the first place," Thatch explained.

Ace frowned. "I didn't join already?" he asked quietly, not meaning to say it aloud. Thatch furrowed his brows, looking confused.

"You haven't even officially met Pops yet, Ace," he said slowly. He sounded suspicious now, but not in a bad way. Not in a way that he didn't trust Ace, which he was thankful for. "Only a few days ago, you refused vehemently. We thought it would be a lot harder for you to agree… Ace, do you really think you've been here before?"

Ace nodded. "I feel like I've been here a long time." He noticed things becoming clearer about things that hadn't happened, while nothing of his past was coming back at all. Only Deuce and his childhood were there. The rest was blank. Like he'd skipped from being with Luffy to suddenly being here, his whole journey as a captain gone.

"That's so weird," Thatch whispered. "You remember people, or places? Or events that happened?"

"Only some stuff. Not a lot. Just some people. Marco… birdbrain?" he asked, confused as to why that was there. Why would he ever think something like that? Surely it would get him in trouble if he ever said something like that. He remembered small things like that, some snippets of events that were a bit fuzzy. "Pranks… paint, all over the place. A guy with long hair, he hates people touching his… kimono?"

He looked up, and Thatch's eyes were huge, his face in shock. "I remember weird things like that. I don't know why." Thatch looked down.

He said, "You shouldn't know stuff like that, Ace. Even if you were a spy, you shouldn't know things like that. We call Marco birdbrain to piss him off. Me and Haruta experiment with paint to prank people all the time. Izo hates people touching him at all, threatens us with a gun if we touch his clothes."

Ace was so confused and concerned. He just wanted to remember his life. Not stupid things like this. He wanted to remember his crew. He wanted to remember the adventures they'd had. That's why he set out to be a pirate! To be strong, have adventures, and he'd forgotten all of it! "I want to remember my crew. I don't want to know stupid stuff like that," he said sadly.

Thatch got up and put his hand on Ace's back. "Maybe if you see them, they'll come back to you," he suggested kindly. Ace shook his head, pointing out that he'd be unable to speak to them if he didn't remember on the spot. "I have an idea!" the commander suddenly said. "All pirates have logbooks, right? If we go back to your ship, we can get them and you can read up on all of the adventures you've had!"

Ace brightened, and nodded. "I want to do that!" he said, feeling happy for the first time since waking up. Thatch stood up, and said they could go now. Ace jumped up and followed after him.

"I gotta tell Pops we're going back to the island. It's not far from here, we haven't gone far. We were planning on going back to your ship to get your belongings once you guys agreed. Man, this has been easier than any of us thought it would!" They hurried to the captain's throne. It was huge, but Ace was not surprised by the size, even though he didn't remember seeing Whitebeard - _Pops…_

He did not say that aloud. "Son, and Ace," Whitebeard said in surprise when he saw Ace hurrying after Thatch after being a pissy brat a few days before. "How are you feeling?" he asked, a strange look on his face.

"Okay," Ace said, not knowing how to act without seeming suspicious. Thatch was fine with it, but Marco was not as accepting of strange things. He could tell just by his face at seeing Thatch and Ace standing close and Ace not looking angry at all.

"We're going back to his ship to get some important stuff. We're gonna take one of the rafts since it's not too far from the ship," Thatch said immediately, and Pops frowned, probably thinking this was a trick on Ace's part, that he'd just leave once they got back to the island. "Don't worry! He won't run. Well, we'll be back in a bit!" Thatch said, and he and Ace hurried away.

Marco flew after them and landed in front of the two. Ace felt uncomfortable, but not afraid. _Friend._ He had at least three friends on this ship, even though Thatch was the only one who seemed to return the sentiment, even if he hadn't said it.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked Thatch, looking at Ace curiously.

"Yeah! Don't worry about a thing. We're just getting some important stuff. We'll get the rest another time," Thatch said cheerily. Marco asked if he was taking his swords. "Why would I do that?" the pompadoured man asked in utter confusion. Marco raised a brow. "Oh, Ace won't attack me. He's a good guy."

The blonde was clearly confused by Thatch's behavior, that he'd made friends with Ace just maybe an hour after he woke up. "Well, we'll be back soon. Don't worry, you'll make a bad first impression. He'll think you have a stick up your ass."

Ace could not help but say. "It wouldn't hurt him, though," before he turned pale, and Thatch started cracking up, thumping Ace on the back. He said goodbye, and pulled Ace along with him to lower down one of the escape boats which had a small cabin big enough for three people. It would only take a few hours to get back to the island, so they didn't pack food or anything. Marco watched them from afar, Ace seeing the look of confusion on his face.

-x-

Ace sat in the makeshift bedroom that was clearly a storage room with a crappy mattress, reading through the many thick logbooks his crew had recorded. He didn't remember anything, but felt like it was progress. He was most interested in his adventures in Wano, meeting Tama. He had photos of his crew and tried matching the names to the faces.

Deuce stood out, and he was glad he remembered at least one person. He didn't want to see them yet, hoping he'd remember them with time. They were on one of the other ships to keep them apart. Any other time, in a normal situation, Ace would have been mad to be separated from them. But this time was good. He just couldn't bring himself to face them and not know who they were.

He'd been through a lot with them based on their logbooks. And he'd forgotten them. Thatch brought in food for him at dinner, and asked how it was going. "I still don't remember any of this, but I'm glad to at least know the gist of what's happened," he said, closing the log book he was reading and getting started on the food.

"Thank you. For taking me to my ship. I didn't recognize anything there. It felt so cold and empty," Ace said with a sigh. It hadn't felt like home at all. The Moby Dick felt more like home, but he didn't voice that thought.

Thatch smiled. "No problem! I trust you already. And you're pretty interesting! Hopefully you remember more stuff so we can get to know you better. Though I hope memories returning won't make you leave," he said the last part more sadly.

Ace smiled. "I have a feeling I won't leave. I don't think you should worry," he assured his friend. Thatch grinned, and said he'd bring dessert later, and to just keep reading and nobody would disturb him. "When will I talk to P- Whitebeard?" he asked, catching himself just barely. Thatch didn't seem to notice. Thankfully.

"I told him you were tired today and would talk in the morning," the chef replied. Ace smiled and thanked him, before the man left Ace to eat in the quiet and then continue reading. Thatch came back maybe an hour later and gave him a plate of hot chocolate lava cake that made Ace's mouth water visibly. He took the tray and left Ace to eat the absolutely _heavenly_ desert. Oh _god_ it was good.


	2. Feeling Helpful

**Im_sailing_away: Thank you!**

**Road_To_Dawn: Thank you! There is a lot of brotherly love between Ace and Thatch and they become best friends. So cute. It will be awhile before we get to the you know what event. I'm still upset about Marineford too, so I ignore that it really happened and convince myself that everything went fine lol. Thank god for canon divergent fanfiction.**

**sousi: Thanks!**

**Stormlight8: Thank you! Yeah, I put angst on Ace in this one, but he has Thatch as a lifeline right now. He's dependable with his brothers.**

**Shiraioki: Thanks! There is a lot more to come.**

* * *

**I finished my first crossover! I've never done one before, but I had a lot of fun with this one. I don't know when it will be out, as 400 pages is a lot to edit and I still have over 100 pages of this one left to edit. I'm not gonna say what it's crossover with, it'll be a surprise. Anyways, enjoy this chapter. We meet an "enemy" in this one.**

* * *

In the morning, Ace immediately got up and headed to the galley for breakfast. Like he'd been doing it for ages, he severed himself from the buffet counter and sat at the table Marco was sitting at, digging in. The first mate looked at him strangely.

"This is the commanders table, Ace," Marco said simply.

"Okay," Ace replied and got back to eating. Haruta clamped his mouth shut to not laugh at Marco's face.

"That means only commanders sit here." Ace stared at him blankly, knowing he belonged here, though he didn't know why. He didn't remember ever being a commander, and couldn't see why they would make him one. He doubted that that would happen. Maybe he sat there because he assumed he would sit with Thatch to eat. And Haruta, since he was a friend, too. "That means non-commanders shouldn't sit here."

Finally, Ace got the hint. "Oh! Okay, I get it," he said, and picked up his tray full of variant types of breakfast foods, and walked to one that was across from the commanders' table, feeling very embarrassed. Marco probably thought he was stupid.

After he ate, he left and headed to one place, but didn't know why. He found it was near the front of the ship, and had a window in it bigger than the portholes he'd seen so far. It had shudders, like they'd be closed during storms so that the window didn't break.

He looked around, seeing the room was empty of people but full of maps and books. A navigator's room. He looked at the maps curiously, seeing maps of the New World that looked vaguely familiar but he knew based on the log books of his own crew, that he'd never visited. He held his head, something he found himself doing often.

It was frustrating. He left eventually, walking out and down the hall, meeting Marco walking his direction. "Hey, where you going?" he asked, more curious than suspicious.

"Um, exploring," Ace replied. Marco asked where he'd been. "The navigator's room. You have a lot of supplies." Ace felt he would be a good navigator, but hadn't been the main one on his crew. Not according to the log books. He was glad when Marco didn't act suspicious of his motives.

"Well, when we have a crew this big, it's only natural," he said. "You up to talking to Whitebeard?" Marco asked. Ace looked nervous, not knowing if the captain could see right through his facade. He was having trouble holding in observations and realizations. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you or anything like during the fight. You healed up pretty good."

Ace looked down at his chest, as the bandages were gone. He'd removed them last night as they made him feel constricted. He hadn't removed them because he knew he was healed, but they annoyed him. "Okay," he said. He was surprised when Thatch called his name, running down the hall.

"Yo, Ace! I gotta show you something! Oh, Marco," Thatch said, losing his excitement when he acknowledged his brother. He sounded disappointed and Marco frowned at him, and said Ace was going to talk with Pops now. "Oh, okay."

Marco turned around, and Thach gave him a reassuring smile and thumbs up. Ace nodded back. He felt like he wasn't being himself, but the uncertainty and confusion made him act more meek. He couldn't help it, he wasn't himself right now. Might not for a while, after he figured out what was going on and remembered his crew.

They walked to the huge chair the captain was sitting on, and looked at Ace in curiosity, no doubt having noticed his strange behavior, and how much his personality had changed. Ace was nervous, though he didn't feel unsafe. _Family._ Family wouldn't hurt him. He stood in front of the man, hands in his pockets.

"Hello, Ace. So, we took you here for a reason. I was honestly expecting you to be much more of a hassle," he said with a laugh. Ace didn't know how to respond. "I apologize for injuring you, but it was the only way we could get you to come with us, stubborn brat." But he didn't sound like he was truly insulting Ace, who still said nothing. "Well, I'll ask while we seem to be on friendly terms. Will you join us?"

Ace didn't know how to respond. Agreeing too quickly might look bad, but he didn't want to decline. "Why?" he asked, not wanting to say yes right away even though he knew inside he wouldn't be leaving.

"We've been following your escapades in the paper. I have a good feeling about you. Plus, Thatch seems like you quite a bit," he explained honestly. "I know you were recently a captain, so it will be hard to adjust, but we'd like you to stay."

 _Not captain._ You were a captain, what are you talking about? Ace had been a captain until just days ago, even though he didn't remember it. So he wouldn't miss it, right? But he didn't really want to follow someone else's orders. But, he would. He wasn't a captain. But he wasn't under someone else.

He was confused by his thoughts. "Okay," he said, not wanting to beat around the bush anymore. Marco looked shocked, and Whitebeard laughed.

"That was easy! Welcome to the crew," Whitebeard said cheerily. "Do you have any talents? Maybe other than fighting? We need to pick a division for you to be under." Ace was silent, not remembering what he was good at. His face fell. "What is it?"

Ace looked down. "I don't remember if I'm good at anything." Marco and Whitebeard frowned in confusion, and asked what he meant. "I think I have memory loss. I can't remember anything, really." It would do no good to hide that part if he would be staying here. He would hide the whole knowing stuff he shouldn't thing.

"What can't you remember?" Marco asked, sounding concerned for his new brother. They all called themselves brothers, so Ace was one now. The youngest of them, clearly. He'd always been the big brother, so it would be weird to be the youngest. Though they were all adults, so it should be different from Ace's life as the big brother. Well, he was still a big brother, but also a little one, now.

Ace honestly said, "I can't remember most of my time as a pirate captain. I don't even remember our fight. Everything is blank. I can't even remember the names and faces of my crew." Whitebeard looked shocked and quite worried and concerned. Marco looked so sad for him, like Thatch had.

"I'm so sorry, Ace," Whitebeard said sincerely.

"I already had my head checked for a brain injury, but they said there was none," Ace added. Whitebeard suddenly looked guilty. He probably thought their fight gave Ace severe amnesia. "I don't know if it was from the fight. I don't remember being hit in the head."

Marco replied, "I didn't see you get hit in the head, either. We were watching the fight from the ship. Is that the reason you went back to your ship yesterday?" Ace nodded, explaining he was reading up the logbooks. "We could check your head again more extensively if you want."

Ace truly didn't feel that was the problem, though he didn't know why he felt that. It didn't explain him knowing things he shouldn't. It didn't explain so much. Surely he wouldn't forget years? Something else was wrong, something else had happened to him, but what? According to everyone he'd spoken to, he remembered his crew just a few days ago. Now it was all blank. Empty. Depressing.

"Sure," Ace said. "But, I don't know what I'm good at, so I don't know where I'd fit in," he said, getting back to the original topic, which they had strayed from.

Whitebeard had a pandering look on. "Well, you were a good fighter, but we have a plethora of them already. There are a few empty spaces in the second division, for the navigators. But there's no commander there, so it rotates between the commanders weekly. You'll get to know everyone more easily like that."

 _Second division commander._ Ace resisted putting his hands to his head. "I don't know if I'd be a good navigator, though," he said instead. He was glad he didn't blurt out what he'd thought. He was doing good on that so far, thankfully.

"Well, you had to have navigated on your own at the beginning of your pirate journey. Even if you don't remember it, it could be muscle memory. We can always switch you out if you don't do well," Marco offered. Ace thought that was a reasonable plan. Plus, the navigation room felt right.

Ace didn't know if that was just in his head or was something he sensed, like the names and places. It would be amazing to be a good navigator. Maybe he'd be useful, since he was useless now without any memory of his recent life. "Okay."

Marco smiled. "You can start today. For now, until you adjust better, you can stay in your makeshift bedroom until you move into the last bunk open in the second division chambers," the phoenix said.

An hour later, Ace stood in the back of the navigation room, feeling awkward and unconfident. He'd been introduced to the main ones in the division, and was observing them work. Something felt off though, with how they worked. He was itching to do something when he watched Jirashi making a map of an island they'd apparently been to recently, before picking Ace up.

Something about the way he drew the lines looked wrong. He was frowning at it, and one of them noticed. "Is there a problem?" Kai asked, the one who predicted the weather the most. Ace caught himself.

"No, just wish I could draw maps like that," he said, lying perfectly. Sure, he wished he could draw maps, but that wasn't the problem. Kai smiled.

"Maybe you'll learn sometime. We could walk you through it at the next island we stop at. We've drawn maps there before, but it would be a good learning experience to teach you," he said nicely. Ace smiled and nodded. This division felt nice. At least, those he'd met so far. He watched the map being drawn, still not knowing what had bothered him, but had pushed the feeling away just to watch in interest.

The mapping pens looked strange, and he looked forward to working with them.

-x-

Ace was sitting in the crowsnest two days later, looking out on the horizon. He had no job that day, and just wanted to relax. He was starting to doze off when he suddenly felt kind of ill. Not _sick,_ just wrong. Like something was really wrong, or about to go wrong. And it didn't feel like his stupid "knowing", but something else.

He looked in the direction he felt was wrong, and saw something in the water, just barely moving in a circle. He frowned before knowing something was _wrong,_ and they were heading right towards it. He bit his lip, not knowing what to do, before he finally decided the feeling was bad enough to do something about.

The youngest felt totally useless, still unable to remember a thing, and wanted to be useful for something. He dropped down from the crowsnest, landing without a pain due to his fire logia and sprinting to the navigation room.

Kai wasn't in there, but the grouchiest one was, standing at the steering wheel. Ace didn't like him, and he didn't seem to like Ace, even though he was perfectly friendly. "Aioba, I think you should turn to the starboard side," Ace suggested. Kai looked at him in almost disgust.

"Why should I do that?" he asked. Ace was thrumming his fingers on his thighs. Aioba seemed to have a pride issue.

"I have a bad feeling," Ace said, knowing it sounded lame. Aioba scoffed.

"You're not even a navigator. They just stuck you here cause it was the only open spot. Don't think you're special," he said cruelly. Ace was angry at that, but more concerned with the pressing feeling. _Turn the ship!_

Ace acted, shoving him to the side and yanking the wheel to the side, tilting the ship suddenly until it moved to the side just barely. Aioba stood and yelled at Ace, trying to pull him away, but Ace kept the wheel turned. "You little shit, let go!" Ace didn't reply, and suddenly the ship jolted to the side as a cyclone formed that would have decimated half of the ship and left them all stranded.

Aioba looked shocked, and Ace was sweating and breathing heavily, looking at the disaster they'd just missed with wide eyes before sighing and putting his head on the wheel. Once the cyclone dissipated, Ace let go of the wheel, and glared at Aioba before leaving the room.

He ran into Marco right outside of the room. "Holy shit, Aioba, that was close," he said, walking past Ace, looking shaken. Ace stood there, feeling Aioba was going to take credit, and was about to leave when he said, "Ace was the one to notice it, not me." Ace had been sure he was going to lie.

Marco looked at Ace in shock. "How did you know? It came out of nowhere," the first mate said in shock and confusion. After all, Ace wasn't supposed to be any good at navigation. He wasn't even the head of it on his own ship. Did he practice it as a hobby? Ace shrugged.

"I just had a bad feeling about going in that direction. I can't explain it," he answered honestly. Aioba looked ashamed, looking at the wheel before apologizing for his words, how they were out of line. Marco didn't comment on the pirate's apology, and asked for him to leave. He did, and soon it was only Ace and Marco in there.

"You don't remember being a navigator?" Ace shook his head.

_I knew I'd teach you well! I bet you can be a higher up now._

_Thanks for your help, old man!_

Ace was jolted back to the present, not recognizing the voice he'd just heard, but the one reply was his own. He sounded so happy and proud. And it didn't feel like a memory from his past, it felt like that feeling he got when he realized something he shouldn't know. He didn't say anything about it.

"I don't remember it, no," Ace replied honestly.

Marco put a hand on his chin. "I haven't seen a person predict something like that that quickly in a long time. I'm impressed. I bet Aioba said something pretty rude, didn't he? His pride is easily wounded," Marco said, not that Ace hadn't noticed already.

Ace smiled. "It's hard not to notice." Marco chuckled.

"That is true. Well, you saved the ship, so thank you. Perhaps you'd be better at this than you think. Have you ever drawn a map?" Ace shrugged. "Sorry, stupid question," he said in amusement. "How have reading the log books been?" he asked, changing the subject.

"I still don't remember any of it. I still don't remember them," Ace replied honestly, voice full of guilt and grief. Marco looked at him with sympathy. "Hopefully it'll all come back soon. I don't want to leave them hanging like this. I don't remember them, but I was their captain. Hopefully I was a good one," he said, chewing on his thumb.

That thought had been worrying him for a while. Was he not a good captain? There had to be plenty of terrible pirates. No, he knew there were. It was a well known fact, not something about him personally or his life. He just hoped he wasn't one of them.

Marco put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You put up a firewall to protect your crew and they didn't want to leave you. If you were a terrible captain, I think they wouldn't have reacted like that. Plus, after you were out, they fought to get you back. So I don't think you should worry about that." Ace smiled and thanked him for the kind words. "Now, why don't you take a break? It's your day off, isn't it?" Ace nodded, and they both left the room, Aioba going back in once both of them were out.

He looked at Ace in guilt and almost embarrassment. And there was a twinge of jealousy in his gaze, and Ace hoped that it wouldn't be a problem. He had been an experienced navigator, and hadn't noticed something as big as a massive cyclone. But then again, Ace had been in a good place to notice. Maybe the window just needed to be cleaned.

Later, he'd seen Aioba in the hall, and asked to talk to him. He glared at Ace in the little alcove they were both in now. "I just wanted to say that maybe we should clean the window. It was kinda dirty," he said. Aioba glared at him.

"I don't need your pity or reassurance, Ace. Don't try to be the nice guy. Nobody likes them," he snapped, and left Ace with a bright red face, scowling. Wow, he sure felt welcome. He stormed to his little room, hoping he didn't need to share a room with that asshole. He was just trying to be nice. What a prick.

Everyone else seemed to like that he was nice. Aioba was just jealous and guilty that he almost got the ship destroyed with his lack of talent. Ace was determined to beat him now. Fucking asshole. Ace would prove he was more talented than him. That he was a natural at this, or was just experienced and didn't know it.

-x-

Life was getting easier. At least, his new life. He still hadn't remembered a thing about the last two years. But life with the Whitebeards felt like it was right. He was so confused, and was having trouble not voicing his random realizations or recognitions. He only talked about them with Thatch. He was the closest one to Ace, and was always interested in what he had to say.

Ace hadn't had another savior moment since a week ago, but he was helpful in the division for other reasons. He helped out the others with their work, never taking the lead, though. He helped with supply runs, bolting things down during a storm, bringing messages to people around the ship.

He liked being helpful. He liked the praise and thank yous. He felt like a little kid seeking acceptance. Maybe it was because of the guilt of letting down his stranger crew. Maybe that was why he wanted to be as helpful as possible. Even when he had days off, he spent them helping others out. Helping Thatch out with taste testing, fetching things from the storage rooms.

It gave them time to talk over Ace's strangeness. Sometimes, it felt like he unlocked information. He'd remember something a few days apart. And it was always facts, not memories. Besides that one quote of talking to someone he didn't know. At least, he didn't know yet.

He was with Thatch in the library, helping him get a certain cookbook he couldn't find out of the 104 (seriously, he was a hoarder), when he suddenly got a _horrible feeling_ about the island they'd be landing on. The first island that Ace would land on that he remembered other than Dawn Island. He was excited, until now.

He dropped down from the second floor level in front of Thatch, a horrified face that he couldn't help. "Whoa? What is it? What's wrong?" Thatch asked.

"We can't go on the next island!" he shouted. "We have to skip it!" Thatch's expression hardened, and he nodded once. He dragged Ace out and they ran, looking for Marco or Pops. He asked, while they ran, what Ace was feeling about it.

"I- I don't know, but whatever it is it's bad, and we can't go. No one will believe me, and we can't tell them. They'll think something is wrong with me," Ace insisted. Thatch promised they'd keep his secret.

He offered, "I could tell Marco I had a bad dream about it and pester him to death until he goes and checks it out. It shouldn't be too far, we'll be there by dinner." It was late morning, before lunch. They still had time. Ace was glad with that plan. Thatch was skilled at pissing Marco off like no one else on the crew. It was always entertaining.

They found Marco coming out of the bathroom. "Marco, Marco! You gotta go check out that island! I had a bad dream about it!" Marco looked at him in disbelief. That was the beginning of an hour long pester-fest until Marco finally snapped and agreed to go visit the stupid island. He left with the baby den den, saying that he was going to punish Thatch later if this was a prank. Ace was relieved when Thatch told him after Marco had left.

Ace had been bothered by the bad feeling all day, and it got worse the closer they got. Something bad was there, but he still didn't know what. And it wasn't like the cyclone, it was the recognition/realization. Hopefully, he didn't get Thatch in trouble and piss Marco off. Thatch would take the blame for that, so Ace was worried.

Ace was mopping the deck when a call was made from Marco to Pops at his chair, where he liked to spend his time watching his children and Ace. Well, Ace didn't exactly stick out of the crew besides his hat, size and youthful appearance. Other than that, he didn't bring much attention to himself.

Ace was conveniently close to the throne as he mopped, when the call was made. "Hello, Marco. Was Thatch's dream correct?" he asked in amusement.

" _Some sort of disease killed everyone on the island. We have to change course. They're all rotting. And there are a bunch of ships stranded, all of the sailors on there dead, too. We almost were them. Change the ship's course now. I'm heading back, now,"_ Marco's voice said, deeply serious on the other line.

Whitebeard's face went shocked, and Ace grinned behind him, letting out a relieved sigh and putting his hand on his chest like an old person would. He finished up the mopping before trailing behind Pops as he looked for Thatch. He wanted to know what would happen.

He trailed from a distance and entered the galley and sat at a table as Pops approached Thatch, a serious look on. Thatch looked up from his baking, making ridiculously decorative cupcakes for some reason. "Yo, Pops! Wanna try my strawberry cupcakes? What's wrong?" he asked, looking up to see Whitebeard wasn't there for cupcakes.

"The island you talked about is full of sick corpses. How did you-?" but Thatch looked to the side and saw Ace, unable to help himself from grinning. But Pops obviously noticed it and looked to where Thatch was to see Ace grinning back, before he lost his grin and awkwardly left the room.

To his horror, Pops and Thatch followed him. "Ace, can I speak with you, and Thatch, in private?" the captain asked, and Ace felt himself starting to sweat, but he couldn't exactly refuse, so he turned back around and he and Thatch nervously walked to the meeting room, which was impossible to eavesdrop on since the walls and door were made extra thick for just that reason.

Ace and Thatch sat in two seats, side by side, both looking stiff and uncomfortable. Pops stared at them suspiciously. "Will you tell me the truth, now? I doubt Thatch's story." He looked at Ace, who avoided eye contact. Thatch said nothing, not daring to lie. "Whatever the story is, it has saved us. For that, I am grateful."

Ace finally said something. "I had a bad feeling about it," he said simply, and it was the truth.

"Why did you have Thatch say something?" he asked curiously, not sounding mad. Thatch said that they'd think Ace was weird if it was him. Everyone already knew Thatch was weird, so it wasn't a big deal. "Is this the only time that's happened? Do you remember anything like that happening before?"

Thatch looked to Ace uncomfortably. "Sometimes… only recently I think," Ace said, again a simple truth. "I don't know why."

Whitebeard then asked if it was the same with the cyclone, which Ace denied. That it was something different, he'd felt a change in the air and saw something abnormal about the water. "Well, whatever caused you to have the bad feeling, thank you. I won't ask anything more about it for now, but thank you for saying something."

Ace was so glad he didn't pry anymore, though the teen had feeling he'd be watched closer after this. Luckily, he'd not been acting too weird lately. He was getting more used to realizing random things. Most of them were small. "If you ever get that feeling again, come straight to me, okay? I won't let anyone else know about this," he swore, and Ace thanked him with a relieved smile. Then he passed out, and Thatch laughed and took him to the couch in the library nearby, since Ace's sleep attacks didn't last long.

When he woke up, there was hot tea next to the couch. There were a few other people in there, quiet but still audible enough to hear grumbling about the island being canceled. Ace didn't feel bad one bit, and relaxed into the couch, satisfied with himself. Maybe… this whole future-seeing thing would be helpful, not just for him to know things he shouldn't know.

Maybe he could be really helpful. And now that Pops knew, Ace could tell him without worrying about anyone else finding out and thinking there was something wrong with him, whatever _was_ wrong with him, at least his situation had an upside. He may not remember his old crew and the life they had, but he could help his new crew, more than just errands and cleaning.


	3. Sabotage

**Road_To_Dawn: Thank you! Yeah, Aioba is an asshole. I made him into a very unlikable character.**

**sousie: Who knows how people would react if they found out? Probably think he's crazy or some sort of spy. It's lucky Thatch was the one to talk to Ace first.**

**SoccerSarah01: Thank you!**

**MirabellaViridi: Answer to that is in this chapter and ahead. And I think LUka is right since Ace burned the old Spade ship (I ready that somewhere) and brought his crew with him onto Whitebeard's ship. I wish we could have seen them at Marineford. :(**

**LUka: He's so confused and worried about being found out so he's doing his best to go along with everyone at the moment. He'll get more in character later.**

* * *

**Well this is a short chapter. Sorry about that. Enjoy~**

* * *

"We're here!" Haruta screeched as they arrived at an island they _could_ dock at. The moment Marco had come back from his trip to the graveyard island, he'd burned his clothes and taken a chemical shower in the backroom of the infirmary. Nobody had gotten sick, and the word of Thatch's miraculous dream had not spread. Marco hadn't told anyone as he didn't want them to worry needlessly.

It was only Ace, Marco, Thatch and Whitebeard who knew, and Marco didn't know the full story. Ace was excited to be on this island, not just because he didn't remember ever being on an island beside his home one, but because he got to try mapping it. He liked to hope that he had a hidden talent at mapping as well, so he could one-up Aioba again, the asshole.

Once word had spread in his division about Ace being the one to save the ship, the man had been ordering him out of the room whenever he could to go run errands. But, when it was Thatch's turn to take over that division and give them instructions, Ace was prominent as Thatch asked him to do many things. Aioba didn't like that, to say the least.

Ace pretended to act friendly with him, when he purposely said things that hinted at Ace getting even better some day. And the navigators were teaching him more about weather patterns in the New World, giving him vital information and education to be even better.

There had been no sudden storm like the cyclone afterwards, mostly more predictable things that many of the navigators could do, including Ace, but they still were thankful for his help, and not toxically jealous like Aioba. Some helped him learn how to work the mapping pens, which was easy after only a few tries.

"Ace, go shopping with me," Thatch said as they worked on furling the sails to dock at the island. It had mountains, which would be a challenge for Ace, but he looked forward to it.

Ace replied, "I'm going to work on mapping the island, I can't." Thatch had grown very attached to Ace, trying to include him in most things he could. And most of the time, Ace gladly took part since Thatch was easy and fun to be around. He pouted when Ace declined. "I'm super excited to do it, though," the youngest said eagerly.

"Wanting to piss off Aioba more? Hah, it's easy to see your rivalry. He glares at you all the time," Thatch said with a laugh and amused voice. "Probably because you're both young and new, and he's been here a long time."

Ace grinned, glad Thatch wasn't mad about their bad relationship. "The others like me well enough, want me to succeed. He's the only one with a bad attitude," Ace replied. Before Thatch could reply, Dex, one of Ace's mapping friends, came out with a large bag of supplies with what Ace assumed was the mapping gear.

"Yo, Ace! Ready to go? We should get started as soon as possible," he said, and handed Ace his own pack. "I'll help you out as much as I can."

"Thanks, Dex. I look forward to it," Ace replied with a bright smile. "I'll see you later, Thatch." The commander pouted, but said goodbye as well. Ace and his fellow navigator left and took most of the day measuring the island's terrain. It took a lot of patience and focus, but Ace enjoyed it.

He and Dex stayed mostly quiet except when sometimes commenting on strange areas and places they should avoid due to the animals on the island. Apparently, they'd mapped this place before, but the map was getting old and yellow. It took most of the day, and they ate small meals from a backpack Ace carried.

By the time they got back, it was sunset, and Ace was famished. But dinner wasn't for another half hour, so Ace started on his map. Dex shooed the others out since they needed focus and quiet, and they were on an island and didn't need to look out for dangerous occurrences.

Ace had to use two sheets of paper after spilling ink on the first. It was embarrassing, but Dex said nothing of it as they worked on their separate maps. He let Ace know that if Ace somehow was better at it than he was, he wouldn't be upset. He said he wasn't Aioba with a bad attitude. Ace liked Dex a lot. He wished everyone in his division was like him.

This crew was full of kind pirates, with a sprinkle of jerks in it. There was one commander Ace disliked greatly: Kingdew. He didn't like Ace. Well, he didn't seem to like anybody, really. The newby was grateful he wasn't in his division, and hated when he took over the control of the second division when it was his turn.

Ace wondered when they'd fill the seat. _Second division commander._ He shook his head, but got back to his map. Dinner time came before he finished, so he put the supplies away and headed to dinner. He was happy after the long day, and ate what seemed like too much for someone his size. He sat with his own division mostly, since he wasn't welcome at the commander's table even after being good friends with Thatch.

After dinner, after helping Thatch clean up a bit, he went back to his map to work on for the next two hours before retiring to bed. When he got up in the morning, he went to check on his map and found someone had spilled ink all over it. He looked at it with a devastated expression on, holding the ruined map.

It was his first try, and someone ruined it. Didn't even leave a note about it being an accident. He looked over and saw Dex's map was perfectly fine. Ace scowled, and put the map down before getting out the supplies again and starting over, though it wouldn't be the same. He'd been nearly finished with his first map, and now it was ruined. He didn't even care that his second map looked better than the first. He wasn't happy with it, and just filed it away, folding up his original map and putting it in his pocket.

He sniffled, hiding the embarrassing tears and left the room. He ran into Haruta on his way to the galley as well from the bathhouse. Ace was clearly upset and the small commander asked if he was okay. "Someone spilled ink on my first map. Didn't even leave a note or apology or anything," Ace said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Haruta said empathetically. Ace had a hunch it was Aioba but wouldn't make unfound accusations.

"Thanks. I made another one and finished it, but it's not the same, it's not my first try," Ace explained. He pulled out the ruined map and unfolded it. Haruta glared at it, looking angry before taking it from him. He growled, and Ace asked what was wrong.

Haruta said, "It's clear this was not an accident by the way the ink is spilled. If it had been dropped, it would have splattered. If it had been spilled, it would look different. I think someone ruined this on purpose, and that is _not_ acceptable. We'll figure out who did it and punish them."

Ace was happy with his reaction. That he didn't brush it under the rug and just move on. Ace got his food with Haruta, and Thatch asked what was wrong when he saw Ace's subdued expression. He was usually happy in the morning. He only got depressed sometimes about forgetting his old life.

He'd gotten word that his crew were adjusting alright, but Ace was still afraid to talk to any of them. Even Deuce, the only one he remembered. He didn't want to speak to him, though. He was fading as well. As he "remembered" more things he shouldn't, the foggy memories of Deuce grew more blurry and indistinct. He didn't want to get close to Deuce only to forget him like the rest.

It was long overdue to heal if it had been a head injury that caused this. "Someone sabotaged Ace's first map," Haruta answered.

"WHAT?!" Thatch erupted. Haruta showed him the map, and Thatch realized that the ink was wrong as well. "That was clearly dribbled on purpose. You'd think they'd do it neater. Everyone knows the consequences of purposely ruining other peoples' work! In any circumstance, that is a severe punishment!"

Ace asked what else had gotten ruined. "When someone messes up an invention from the shipwrights on purpose, or something made by the dude-seamstresses. Things like that, depending on the motive and severity, have varied punishments from cleaning every bathroom alone to suspension to not setting foot on an island. What a fool, who did this. Don't worry Ace, we'll get to the bottom of it," Thatch swore.

Ace gave a small smile and a thank you. It meant a lot to him that they'd get that upset, even if the reaction was the same for everyone. Besides Kingdew and Aioba, he felt welcome on the Moby Dick. Thatch's immediate approval he felt had made him more approachable by others. He could be wrong, but that's what he felt. At least, the people he'd met so far liked him. It was hard to know all 1600 of them.

"Why don't you sit with us, this time?" Haruta offered. Ace looked confused, and asked why. "Just thought you might not want to sit with knowing someone from your division ruined your map," he replied.

Ace said, "But I'm not allowed at the commanders' table."

Haruta smiled. "Well I'm a commander and I'm giving you permission." Ace nodded and followed Haruta to the table. They talked about the island, but no one was upset with Ace being there. For some reason it felt right. _Second division commander._ Ace hid the scowl, hating that thought since he didn't know what it was for. It wasn't saying anything other than the title, no hint at the context of it.

"What's wrong, Ace?" Jozu asked, noticing Ace looking sad over his map again.

Thatch was there by now and said what had happened. The commanders were angry, since they knew how important Ace's first map must have been. Whitebeard was very angry, and made an announcement that everyone in the second division would be staying after dinner. And when they happened, all of the commanders were there since that division's responsibilities were shared by all of them on the rotating basis.

"Someone in your division has sabotaged Ace's first map. It would be best for whoever did it to come forward now," Whitebeard said. The table erupted into outrage about why someone would do that to Ace's map, since he never was mean and had been so excited about it. And crushing a teen's dreams made them angry and protective over him.

Ace may be 19, but he really didn't look like it with his freckles. Even though he was tall and well built, he still didn't really look his age. It didn't bother him as much as people knew he wasn't useless like a kid.

Multiple of them were staring pointedly at Aioba, who was sweating and it would be predictable for him to be the culprit with his clear dislike of Ace's presence. So, he finally stood up and came forward. Whitebeard and the commanders fondest of Ace glared at him, arms crossed.

"Why did you do this, Aioba?" Whitebeard asked angrily, with everyone glaring at him for breaking a big unspoken rule. It was a policy. Ace had been told long ago that it was so important because there were so many of them, and it was hard to stand out and sometimes stressful. Creations were important to individuality. It wasn't the only reason, since it was just generally disliked to ruin others' things, but it was the main one.

Aioba's face was red. "I'm sick of everyone praising him when he does nothing that anyone else can't do," he finally said. It made everyone look at him in disbelief. He was in his late thirties, and was whining and jealous about a 19 year old being successful at what he was doing.

"So, you did it out of jealousy?" Marco asked in disbelief. Ace was glaring at him, sitting at the table between Kai and Dex. Dex had patted his back when he found out about Ace's precious map being ruined.

Aioba didn't reply and that was answer enough. "You are suspended from your position for a month. Not only did you ruin something important to a brother, but you want to hinder his positive growth, and that is unacceptable. Family pushes one another up, trying to help each other be successful. I'm very disappointed," Whitebeard said in disapproval.

Aioba glared and sent a nasty look at Ace, who bristled at the look. It was his own fault he got in trouble, Ace didn't tattle on him. "If you harass Ace anymore, you will be removed from your post far longer or perhaps permanently," Whitebeard said in a strict voice. "You are all dismissed." They stood up, all glaring at Aioba, who stood, shoulders slumped and glaring at the floor beneath him.

Ace took out his map again and sighed, but was unable to crumple it up. His fellow division members pat his back encouragingly. "We still like you, don't worry about him. He's just jealous. The rest of us are happy for you," one said, someone he didn't even talk to much. Ace smiled and thanked him before he branched off to go to his room.

He didn't know when he'd be moving in with other second division members, but liked having his own quiet space. He knew he'd had a captain's quarters on his old ship after they'd moved everything out and onto the Moby Dick, when the sister ship had come to get the Spade's things to give to them.

Ace put his ruined map into the trunk he was given that held everything personal to him. Much of the stuff on the ship had been burned along with it as a final goodbye to the life he didn't remember and knew he wouldn't go back to.

When he went to bed that night, he had a bad dream. It wasn't a nightmare, but woke him in tears. His crew, their faces blank, stood in front of their burning ship that Ace had no emotional connection to, and told him that it wasn't fair, that he'd made all the decisions without speaking to them about it.

When he woke up, he wiped his tears away, and sat up. He put clothes on, since he was in his underwear, and left the room quietly, walking through the halls silently. He was barefoot so his boots made no noise in the empty halls.

He knew who was on watch that night, and went out onto deck to find Haruta in the crowsnest. "Haruta!" he called. The commander peeked over the edge, surprised to see Ace there.

"Yo, what's up?" he asked, motioning for Ace to come up. Ace climbed the ratlines and walked along the yardarm to sit in the large crowsnest with his friend. Thatch was still closest, but ever since Ace was roped into pranks, he and Haruta spent a lot of time together. It was the only thing annoying about Ace's presence. Though the commanders took most of the blame.

Ace looked down, and said, "You know about the situation with my crew?"

Haruta nodded. "That you don't remember them?" he asked softly.

"I want to finally call them. I know they must hate me now, it's been weeks, but I just… I'm ready to talk to them, explain what's happened. I know you're the one who manages the den den mushis, and I wasn't going to go to them without permission. Will you let me call them?" he asked.

Haruta frowned. "Yeah, I give you permission to talk to them. It's pretty late, so how about tomorrow morning when everyone will be awake?" Ace thanked him and nodded. "Hey, it's not your fault you don't remember them. You don't know what happened, you didn't do it on purpose," the commander said.

Ace replied, "It still doesn't make me feel any less guilty."

"I know, but I hope you don't hate yourself for what you can't control," he said sincerely. Ace smiled at him and thanked him before leaving to go back to bed. "I'll get you when I wake up in the morning so we can do it ASAP."

Ace nodded with a genuine simple before climbing down and walking back to his room.


	4. Coming Clean

When he was woken, he was surprised he'd fallen back to sleep in the first place. Haruta was waiting outside the door and Ace came out dressed, nervous and afraid. "Don't worry, Ace," Haruta said and patted his back.

Ace didn't smile but nodded. He and Haruta walked to the intelligence room that housed all of the different den dens connected to other ships, allies, and protected islands. There were even ones to Big Mom and Kaido, though they were never used. Hadn't been used and nobody but Pops knew why or how he had them.

Haruta picked up one of the larger den dens and called. " _Hello?"_

"Hey, Julian, this is Haruta. I'd like you to gather the Spades to talk to," Haruta said, getting straight to the point. The guy on the other end agreed and left for about ten minutes before he came back and said, " _Alright, they're here."_

"Thanks." Haruta handed the den den receiver to Ace, whose hands were shaking. The Spades were quite on the other side. The commander left the room for Ace to have some privacy, and he said, "H-Hi, guys."

There was an eruption of "Ace!" in excitement, no anger. Ace bit his lip, tears already down his face. " _Where have you been?"_ one of them demanded, and he heard cries on the other end. " _We were so worried! We've been waiting!"_

"I- I'm sorry! I couldn't talk to you, any of you!" Ace cried, and there were sounds of shock and concern.

" _Ace, what happened? What do you mean?"_ one asked, and he wished he could see who was speaking. " _Are you okay?"_ Ace didn't say anything. " _Ace…?"_

The former captain finally steeled himself, and told the truth. "I woke up on the Moby Dick, and I don't remember anything about the last two years. I have no brain injury, but everything is blank! Nothing has come back, and I've read our log books religiously, but I don't remember a thing. It's just all gone," he confessed, tears in his voice clearly.

There was silence on the other end, until one asked, " _You… don't remember us? Or any of our adventures?_ " His voice was broken, and the rest of them were silent.

"No… I don't even remember names and faces. I did remember one of you at first, Deuce. But even now, I can't remember his voice, or how we met. I'm so sorry!" Ace lamented. "I'm sorry I was too scared to talk to you, and left you all hanging for so long. I wish I could remember, but it's just… not there. None of it."

He heard sniffles on the other end. A voice spoke up, that hadn't said anything before. " _We don't hate you, Ace. We are so sad, and upset with this, but you didn't ask for this to happen. We know you'd never purposely forget us. This is Deuce,"_ Deuce said kindly. Ace sniffled, but didn't reply. " _How are you there? Are they treating you right?"_

"They're nice to me, except for one guy. I shouldn't have burnt our ship without your permission. You could have taken it and sailed off on your own. I just wanted to move on, looking at the ship made me feel horrible, that I didn't remember anything about her, about our time on her. Our time together," Ace explained, his voice wobbly but no longer crying.

" _Will you let us come see you? Maybe we can start over. It… it won't be the same, but we still care for you, even if you don't remember us. And hey, maybe seeing us again will kickstart everything!"_ an older sounding voice said. " _My name is Mihar."_

Voices started introducing themselves, and Deuce stopped them, saying Ace couldn't see them so he wouldn't be able to match the names and faces. "Yes. I'll ask for them to bring you here, as soon as they can," Ace said immediately. "Please… don't get your hopes up if nothing comes back to me. I didn't even remember my fight with Whitebeard or Jinbei."

" _We don't take it personally, or anything. And we don't hate you,"_ Deuce assured, voice steady and earnest.

Ace replied, "I might be different now. Not remembering things, I think it changed me. I'm not loud or anything. I feel like I had been once. But not anymore. I don't want to disappoint you, by being someone different now."

" _Don't worry about a thing! Even if you're different now, you're still always going to be Ace,"_ one said, Ace still not recognizing their voices.

Ace nodded and then said, "Yeah. Just… don't have high expectations, okay?"

Deuce said, " _Alright. Will you talk to someone important? About the ships meeting up? We're kinda bored here."_

"I'll do it as soon as possible. And guys, thanks. For not hating me for forgetting everything and leaving you hanging. I should have said something a long time ago. It was selfish, and I'm really sorry."

" _We forgive you,"_ a bunch of them said at the same time. Ace was at least glad they still had one another, they weren't totally alone. Ace had been, but not for long and he'd felt a connection to everyone so quickly. Yet he forgot his own crew. He wished he could figure out what happened that day. Why his life had changed so suddenly, and why he knew things he shouldn't.

He left the room after they said their goodbyes, and Ace wiped his eyes on his shirt, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. He opened the door and saw Haruta waiting against the wall. "Can you bring them here? I know it's a lot to ask, but I want to meet them. Try to remember what I've forgotten," Ace said in a pleading voice, brows furrowed in worry about being rejected.

Haruta grinned. "Told you they won't hate you! And hell yeah, we'll reunite you! Don't worry, you're one of us now. We'll help you when we can," he said, and patted Ace's back, who grinned and thanked him.

After breakfast, Ace was told the Moby 2 would be meeting them in a few days since they'd be staying at that island for a week at least. It had been a long time since an extended break on any island, so they were all enjoying being on land for a bit. Plus, it was a big island with lots to explore.

Ace couldn't wait to see them, hopefully remember something. It would be weird having them know all about Ace when he didn't know a thing about them. But, maybe they'd be friends again when they weren't under him. They would be equals now, Ace wasn't their leader. It might be weird for them to not listen to his orders and stuff. But at least they didn't act like he was a terrible captain. He was so relieved of that.

Later that day, Ace was given a pouch of spending money. Ace was excited with it, and went onto the island to buy something, anything. He wandered around for a bit, seeing glimpses of his crew doing different things. He saw Aioba sitting on a bench and moping. Ace passed him, giving him a look of disdain, which the man returned.

Ace was so pissed at him for ruining his map, but he wasn't going to act on his own, no matter how much he wanted to punch him in the face. That prick ruined Ace's precious map, even if it hadn't been finished. Even if he hadn't done it very well, it was still important to him for other reasons.

He hadn't shown anyone else his second map, didn't know if it was any good. Maybe he'd show them later. Who knows? He ended up buying candy at a candy store. He walked into the forest to explore after that, munching on his hard candy.

He came across some shady men around a campfire. Ace walked past them, not caring much as he wandered around. He felt their eyes on him, but they didn't act. Ace was a bit bummed, he hadn't gotten to real fight in awhile, and based on his training as a child and teen and the Whitebeards' words, he was good at fighting. It had to be muscle memory or he'd be furious he'd have to start over.

Though, he didn't remember ever using his fire. He'd eaten his fruit after leaving Dawn Island, but this time, he was confident he had not forgotten. He could feel his fire inside, and he had used it with Thatch multiple times for making s'mores without anyone else knowing. He trusted that he could still fight, even if he'd been out of action for a couple weeks.

When he reached the other side of the island after walking clean through the forest, he found it was a much grungier and dirty town than the other. Well, it would be described better as a slum. Not a place like Gray Terminal, more like edge town, only bigger. He wandered around, out of money but not out of candy.

He looked around, seeing pretty shady people, more than one with teardrop tattoos, which even he knew what they were. But Ace couldn't judge, he'd killed before, even when he was a kid, he was a killer. And no doubt he'd killed as a pirate, too. He wasn't a saint and wouldn't pretend to be one. He also wasn't afraid of any of the people here, New World or not.

"Yo, brother," a gross voice said. "Gross" was a good description of it. Slimy, maybe. Ace looked over, seeing it was a blond guy with a small nose, a scar on his face similar to Thatch's. He was muscular, and a bit taller than Ace, but he wasn't afraid of him. Just interested in what he wanted, and couldn't help but look down on him.

He could sense that the guy was leagues under Ace's strength. "Pretty sure you're not my brother," Ace said simply, throwing another handful of rock candy into his mouth. "What'dya want?"

"I can tell you're strong, why don't you join us? My name is Bellamy. Got a 195,000,000 berrie bounty, pretty strong. What's your bounty?" Bellamy asked. It was a good question. He remembered Haruta touting him as a pirate with a bounty over 300,000,000 berries, but didn't remember specifically.

"I don't need to tell you that," Ace answered simply. Bellamy looked surprised. After all, don't most pirates boast about their bounty? Ace's bounty was a lot more than this guy's, but he didn't really feel like fighting him today. Maybe that was different than how he used to be, he didn't know. But he was just exploring.

"Did you not just hear me? My bounty is pretty high, you should answer me," Bellamy said, sounding completely cocky.

"Nah, I have no interest in you. Goodbye," Ace said, but dodged even with his back turned when the guy went shooting at him. "Hey, you almost spilled my food!" Ace grumbled in, before stuffing his pocket with his remaining candy. It was mostly gone, as he'd eaten most of it already. He wished he'd had more money, but he'd spent it all. Oh well.

Bellamy said, "Then don't disrespect me, brat!"

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You really want to take me on? I'm warning you, you won't win," but he was already getting ready to fight. Bellamy shot at him. "Okay, you started it! No complaining!" and Ace shot a huge plume of fire at him, jumping and flipping up and slamming his leg down on the guy who'd sprung at him again, shattering the spring into pieces, before it morphed back into a normal human form leg.

He screamed, and Ace kicked a fiery leg onto his back, snapping a few vertebrates. He screamed again and Ace landed lightly, pulling his candy back out. "I warned you," Ace said simply. The other guy Ace hadn't even noticed still being there was hiding in the alleyway, looking at the scene in horror. He had glasses, looking like they should be in a snowy environment. "You may want to take your captain to the doctors'."

"Wh-who are you?!" the guy asked, looking quite ridiculous. He also seemed weak for the New World, like his captain. Ace was feeling light and happy, feeling like he'd just reclaimed part of his missing personality. That was fun! Fighting was fun!

"Firefist Ace of the Whitebeard pirates. I'm new, so it's not official yet. Anyways, good luck healing him!" Ace said, and wandered away and into town more to explore. He heard Bellamy scream in pain as his friend picked him up, probably to go get medical attention. Ace lit his hands on fire, looking at the flames before smiling widely.

He may not remember eating the fruit, but it was his, he was fire, remembering it or not.

-x-

"I got in a fight~" Ace said to Thatch at dinner. "I won~" he added.

Thatch thumped him on the back. "Who was it? How'd it go?!" Ace told him about it, and the disappointing battle. But that he could still use his fruit perfectly even if he didn't ever remember fighting with it in the last two years. "Nice! Well, you can be useful during fights, too! As long as you don't set the ship on fire." Ace laughed, promising he wouldn't.

"You're in a great mood today, it's nice to see," Thatch told him with a bright smile. "Are you excited to see your friends?" Ace was glad he didn't say crew. He didn't want to think about what he couldn't remember, being a captain.

"Yeah. Nervous, but excited. I just hope they don't expect me to be the same as I was," Ace replied honestly. "Is it only my old crew coming back? Izo told me last week that some of the crew was gone on a mission for a while and I haven't met them, yet."

Thatch nodded, putting the last can in the correct crate, leaving the huge wagon in the corner, situated snugly against the wall so it didn't roll around during a storm. "Yeah, there's a group that's been on a mission for awhile. Poor guys got there and the subject was already dead! They're meeting us at the next island. There are two from your own division you haven't met," Thatch replied, and he and Ace left the room, locking the storage room with the key Thatch carried. People liked to steal from the fresh food, and no one could ever catch who it was, so now that room had a lock.

 _Teach._ "Teach?" Ace asked, remembering someone from his division who he vaguely saw in his head. He knew he was fat, but it was as if it was silhouetted. He couldn't picture his face, just his outline.

"Yeah! He's been here super long, since he was twelve," Thatch said. "Have you met him before? Or has anyone told you about him?" Ace was surprised by how young the yonko was accepting crew members. Surely, a 12 year old wouldn't be safe out on the seas? That was crazy, but it had clearly worked as the guy was still alive.

Ace shook his head. "I think I just know his name, like I did with you and others. Don't know anything about him in specific," the current youngest replied. He and Thatch walked back to the galley.

"Have you unlocked anything else lately?" Thatch wondered. "There hasn't been anything bad like that plague island for awhile." Ace shook his head. Nothing new had popped up recently. And no emergency thing had shown up, which he was glad of. Knowing something bad was going to happen wasn't exactly a nice feeling. And that had brought attention to his strange situation. Where he knew more of what seemed to be the present than the past two years.

"I really wish we knew why you know this stuff. It's the biggest mystery ever. Pisses me off," Thatch said bitterly. Ace laughed.

"I would have thought you'd like the mystery, though," Ace commented. Thatch was about to say something else when Ace was called over by Namur, who was in charge of the second division that week. He and Thatch walked over. Ace asked if there was a problem.

Namur nodded, and walked Ace to the navigators' room. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong or that he was in trouble, so he wasn't worried, just curious. There was a crowd in the room around a table. There was a large pile of paper on the surface, and Ace saw that there were a half dozen maps there.

Everyone looked up at him, and he was confused. "What's up?"

"When did you have the time to do this?" Dex asked, holding up one of the maps, which was perfect. Ace was confused, and asked what they meant. "Your name is signed on each one, here." Ace's eyes widened and he looked at the corners of the map, and they each had his signature. But he didn't remember making these. They had no dates on them, but that _was_ his signature. And the cross hatching was also how he did it.

But he'd only made one map, that one of that island. And that had been only a couple days ago! When the hell did he have the time to make these? And he didn't recognize the islands they were. "I- I don't remember making these," Ace said honestly.

"But it looks like your other map, only… kinda too perfect. And they aren't any islands we've visited. This one is one from the East Blue, too. These were made recently, but not of any island we've visited since you joined," Kai commented. "Do you sleep walk?"

Aioba was there, and Ace could feel him glaring at him, but he didn't pay much attention to him, holding up one of the maps that was too simple to be anything but out of the East Blue. "Sometimes. But how would I make a map while I'm asleep? And there are too many for me to have made in two days!" He was so confused.

Thatch said, "Maybe you're subconsciously remembering the islands you've visited on your own pirate journey." Ace's eyes widened, and he felt hope in his chest. But why was he so good at it?

"But that's not the point. These look perfect, and you don't have the measurements on hand, and it's been at least months since you've been to one of these islands. Even the most skilled cartographers can't remember things in detail like this," Jeremy said. He turned to Aioba. "And before you can suggest he made this all up, or it's inaccurate, we compared them to old maps of Paradise and they're identical."

Everyone had soured on him. Nobody really talked to him anymore. Well, it had only been a few days, so it might cool down as time passed. He scowled deeper.

"I… I don't know what to say. I don't remember making these," Ace stuttered.

"Maybe you didn't. Maybe someone else did and you just wrote your name on them," Aioba said, and Ace closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose. Dex glared at the guy.

He argued, "Based on the map Ace made, this matches his style to a T. Plus, they were in Ace's cubby. You're just upset that he's a prodigy," Ace's friend accused. "Deal with it, some people will always be more talented than you are." Ace blushed at the compliments. " _Anyways,_ your obvious skill could be super helpful for us."

"Do you mind if we save these in the official cartography books to replace those in the East Blue and Paradise?" Reed questioned, one of the lead cartographers. Ace felt honored and nodded, biting his lip, hiding a smile. Thatch thumped his back.

He grinned and said, "Maybe your memory will come back. Slowly, but this is a good sign, isn't it?"

Ace nodded, but then frowned. "How long does it usually take someone to make a map like this?" he asked, holding one of the more detailed maps with peaks and dips.

"Many hours. But, if you have the measurements that are committed to memory, then I don't know how long it would take. You're a real mystery, Ace," Reed said with a bright grin. "We should tell Pops. He'll be super impressed!" Ace was blushing madly, and bit his lip in embarrassment.

He put the maps that weren't being reserved back in is cubby. The mystery maps had been under his original (since being on the Moby Dick), so he hadn't even noticed them. "Wait, why did anyone go digging in my cubby?" he asked in confusion.

"You didn't latch it all the way. The ship swayed slightly and I think they slipped out," Namur said, and Ace blushed again, not clipping his cubby back correctly. "To be fair, from what we've gathered, you were sleepwalking. It's lucky you put everything away while half dead." Thatch laughed and Ace nodded, glad people didn't disrespect his privacy and go through the cubby.

They dispersed, many still talking about Ace's skill, with someone still glaring at him. Ace wished he could be on friendly terms with Aioba, but he just didn't see that happening anytime soon. Plus, the guy was still not welcome to do anything regarding their division at the moment. It had only been a day or so, so he had a long time to go. And who knows when anyone will trust him or respect him in their division like they had before he was exposed for ruining Ace's first map.

But, considering how good the maps were, that could not have been Ace's first map. There was no way. When did he learn? Man, Sabo would be so proud, and the thought made Ace smile softly. Sabo would be amazed, probably teasing him about it somehow, though. Luffy would be in shock and awe. Even though Ace didn't remember the past two years, he knew he hadn't seen Luffy just days ago. He knew those years were there, but they were just blank.

It was so weird.

At dinner, Ace's secret escapades were of great interest to most, and it made Ace uncomfortable, even if everyone were saying nice things. He was sitting with Thatch that night, not thinking he'd be the talk of the commanders' table as well. But he was.

"So, wait, you made a bunch of maps in the middle of the night with no measurements and don't remember it? That's so weird!" Haruta said excitedly. Whitebeard was looking at him in interest. It was a bit overwhelming, and Marco noticed this, and changed the subject, earning and thankful smile from Ace.

Whitebeard was smiling at Ace as well, but jumped on the train of thought Marco had brought up. "So, Teach's unit is arriving in three days, right?" Marco asked, successfully directing the conversation in another direction that was engaging enough to not have anyone still talk about Ace's surprise skills.

"Yeah, they should be here in three days, give or take a few hours. They're almost always on time." Ace couldn't help but ask what kind of guy Teach was. "He's one of the earliest crew members. Been here a couple decades. He's a bit overwhelming sometimes, since he's so damn noisy. But he's a good guy, I think you'll get along well."

Ace asked if he was a navigator, too. "He was part of the second division when we just lumped people together for organization, before we had specific purposes for each one. So, he's not a navigator, he's just still in that division. It's been too long to change now," Vista explained, striking his mustache.

The newby raised his brows. "The divisions weren't always organized like this?"

Whitebeard shook his head. "No, I just couldn't handle hundreds of crew members on my own, so my most responsible and dedicated sons became leaders as well, to help manage the mass of our crew that just kept expanding. The crew has evolved quite a bit since the beginning, when it was just myself and Marco," the captain explained, a smile on like he was reminiscing.

Ace looked interested more, and Whitebeard told him all about the early days of his crew. It was weird to think that a crew this massive all started with two people. A man and a fourteen year old kid. "Have you grown out of taking children?" Ace wondered, since he saw no little kids at the moment. No one who looked to have been a child recently, that is.

"I have enough idiots on this crew, I don't think mentally immature children would help much," Whitebeard said with a laugh.

"No! I want kids here!" Thatch shouted, slamming his fist on the table angrily. "Ah, it's not fair! Why do we have no kids?! I want kids!" he lamented, putting his head on the table, his pompadour flattening.

"Well you have a dog," Ace said simply, and those at the table stared at him. "What?"

Marco frowned. "Who told you about Stefan? He was supposed to be a surprise," he grumbled. Ace blinked twice. Stefan? That's right, he just realized they had a dog. No one had told him about it, he had spoken before he could even process the fact he'd realized something else.

Ace sputtered, "I guess someone mentioned it and I heard it in passing." Thatch excused himself from the table, thankfully, so he didn't give off any suspicious expressions. He said he was going to start cleaning up. The only one who looked at him strangely anymore was Pops.

Izo crossed his arms. "Well, it's too bad someone told you about him. He's with Teach's group at the moment. So, he'll be returning with them in a few days," he said conversationally. Ace was so glad he made it past that without anyone seeing him too suspiciously.


	5. The Former Spade Pirates

**JackWRabbit: Hmm, maybe I don't know. Guess we'll have to wait and see!**

**Aesa: This takes place right when Ace joins the Whitebeards, so before Luffy left Dawn Island. So, Luffy isn't in this story at all.**

**SoccerSarah01: Thank you! I feel like people are gonna be surprised with how this one goes with Teach. And probably really mad, too. Not sure.**

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**I'm so late! It's almos** **t 10 pm! I've been so focused on my other story that I didn't even post the one that needs to be posted today. So, sorry it's late. My other fanfiction is the longest I've written so far at 170,000 words. And no end in sight lol. Anyways, much shorter chapter because idk why. Enjoy~**

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Once the table was no longer focused on him and commanders started to leave, Ace's expression fell as he looked at his clasped hands. He sighed and stood up, taking his stuff to the kitchen and then heading to his room to be alone, maybe go to bed. And hopefully to sleep and not do midnight cartography.

He _knew_ he didn't do that before. He slept deeply, didn't remember ever sleepwalking back at Dawn Island. He was concerned, and a bit scared. He went under his blankets, wishing he was normal. He put his pillow over his ear and scrunched his eyes closed.

He wanted to remember his missing two years. He wanted to remember his crew. Why did he know about the dog? Why did he know about things he didn't care about? He eventually fell asleep, and came to standing in the hall near the galley. He blinked twice and then started to freak out, not knowing where he was for a moment.

Ace rubbed his hands down his face with a grumble as he walked back to his room. He was shirtless and in his pajama pants, so luckily he wasn't wandering around in his underwear. That would be very embarrassing, to wake up to find people laughing at him for wandering around in his underwear.

He found Marco at his door, knocking. Of course, no one was answering. "Marco?" he asked tiredly.

"'Hey, where are you?"

"Probably the navigation room. I just woke up in the hallway," Ace muttered. "I don't remember this ever happening before." Marco pointed out that things could have changed over the two blank years. "That's true. What did you need? It's really late."

Marco smiled, and said, "I noticed you're having a hard time today. No one is in the library, so I wondered if you wanted to talk about something with me. I won't tell anyone else anything." Ace was touched by his kindness, but didn't know what he would say.

"I don't know what I would say," Ace replied honestly. "But we can go to my storage room instead of the library." Marco nodded, and both of them went into the makeshift room. Ace wondered when he'd be moved, as it was put on hold for now. He didn't care much, as long as he wasn't in the same room as Aioba.

They both sat on the bed, and Marco frowned. "This mattress is a piece of shit," he said. Ace laughed.

"I slept on a thin mat for as long as I can remember. It doesn't bother me. I didn't even notice," he replied honestly. Marco chuckled.

He asked Ace how he was holding up, about meeting his crew. "I know I'm not the most charismatic of us, but I'm good at keeping secrets for others. There are countless of my brothers who have come to me with problems. I'm not a therapist or anything, but I like to think I'm a good listener."

Ace looked at his hands. "I'm scared to meet them. To disappoint them," he said quietly. Marco gave him an encouraging look but said nothing. "I don't remember who they are or who I was. I'm afraid I'm completely different than how I was just weeks ago. I know it'll be hard for them. It _is_ hard for them. I know I'd be very upset if my friends or crew forgot about _me."_

Marco put his arm around Ace's shoulders and rubbed his arm. "They care about you, I think you'll be friends again, even if the relationships aren't the same as they were. You're very likable, Ace. Disregarding Aioba, that is."

"Thanks. Today was embarrassing. About the maps. I don't know if I'd even be any good at map making when I'm awake," he grumbled. Marco nodded.

"I can understand why that would have been uncomfortable. Having everyone focused on you, even if it's positive attention," he agreed. "I think it shows you definitely have inherent skill, even if you haven't unlocked it while awake. No one will force you to do anything you don't want to, you know? Well, unless it's something real important."

Ace quickly said he did like the mapmaking, from the one time he'd done it, so that didn't bother him. He was just scared he wouldn't live up to the new expectations everyone had of him. What if his maps weren't good when he was actively trying to do well?

"We have plenty of great mapmakers. Even if you're not always good at it, losing you won't hinder us. Having you would be helpful, but you won't be harming us if you aren't always good at it," Marco replied easily. "If you can do that in your sleep, then you do have the talent to do so. Even if you're not there yet, you can be there someday." Ace nodded, knowing that was true.

He yawned. He was tired, and hopefully would stay asleep for good. "If you want, we can get you some pills that will keep you asleep at night, not sleep walking," Marco offered when it was clear Ace was ready to sleep.

"Hmm, maybe," Ace muttered. "Thanks, Marco." Marco smiled and said it was no problem before quietly leaving the room, turning off the light on his way out. Ace dozed off, feeling happy and light. Marco was really nice. He wondered if he'd know the answer why Ace knew the things he did. Maybe he'd tell him some day.

-x-

Ace sat it the crowsnest two days later, in a sad mood. His crew was going to arrive that day, and he didn't feel remotely ready. He was scared, worried, nervous. He wanted his crew to like him. No, not his crew. His friends. Well, hopefully friends. He would be meeting them all for the first time. At least, to Ace, it was the first time.

And they'd be meeting this version of him for the first time, too. He hoped they accepted the changes. Ace didn't want to see disappointment in their eyes. That he wasn't what they expected or wanted. He was feeling extremely insecure, the feelings of little self-worth from his childhood permeating his senses.

He pulled his knees to his chest, and then Thatch was there, pulling himself over the side. He said nothing, and opened a plastic box, showing a chocolate lava cake. "Better eat it fast or it'll get cold," Thatch said, and put his hand on Ace's head before leaving.

The freckled teen smiled, and got to work eating the cake, glad Thatch hadn't stuck around. He may be Ace's closest friend/brother, but he wanted alone time. He didn't want to have to talk to anyone or pretend to pay attention.

He licked the plate clean and then put it back in its box. He brought his knees back up to his chest, glad no one else came up. It was an hour later than Marco called him down. Ace looked over the side of the crowsnest but didn't see any other ship there. With people he didn't recognize, the photos he had of his crew were grainy at best.

He dropped down, and Marco told him they had found a good place for Ace to meet his old crew. "It's not on the ship?"

"God, no. You'd have zero privacy. I found a park area earlier that is secluded and private. Nobody will see you guys there," Marco said kindly. Ace asked if they went looking. "I went flying off this morning and found it pretty easily," he explained simply.

Ace smiled, and thanked him. "And thanks for last night. It was nice of you to do." Marco ruffled his hair. "You're my little brother, what were you expecting?" Ace chuckled. It was still weird being the little brother. "I had - have - a little brother. His name is Luffy. He's an idiot, but I love him," Ace said fondly.

"An idiot like Thatch?"

"No way, so much worse."

"Oh, wow. I'm sorry."

Ace laughed loudly. "He definitely kept me on my toes. But he has a very pure heart, I don't want anyone to ever hurt him."

_You promised me you wouldn't die!_

Ace froze, and Marco stopped next to him. But then it disappeared from his mind completely. "You okay?" Ace looked up, nodded, and kept walking like nothing had happened. "So, you were telling me about Luffy?" Marco prompted, and Ace went back to bragging and lamenting about his baby brother. Bragging about how sweet he was and lamenting about how much stress he had put Ace under for all the years, taking care of him when he was no good at it. He didn't admit the horrifying fact that Ace had tried to kill Luffy many times. He was still ashamed of those days, and was glad that Luffy forgave him, never held those days and actions against him.

Ace was who he was today because of Luffy, for the better. They arrived at the secluded park that Marco had told Ace about, and it was perfect. It was surrounded by trees, which was nice and had a picnic table. "Now, I'll go wait for them at the docks. They should be here soon. The Moby 2 reported the island was in sight not long ago." Ace thanked him, and he was left alone.

He waited for a half an hour, head on the table, hat besides him. His heart was pounding rapidly in worry and fear. He tried breathing exercises, but his heart still beat alarmingly fast. He finally heard crunching, the sounds of many footsteps, and turned to see a group, recognizing many from photos, but not from seeing them in person.

He stood up, holding his hat in both hands. He didn't recognize any of them, and his heart fell. He had hoped seeing them would bring everything back, but it didn't. "Hey, Ace," the blue haired one said. Deuce. That one had blue hair.

"Hi, guys," Ace said quietly. They sat around the table on the grass. Ace sat down there, too, legs crossed and fingers worrying the string on his hat.

"Well, I guess we'll give you our names. I'm Deuce, this is Mihar, Saber, Ducky Bree, Aggie 68 and this is Finamore," Deuce explained. The others nodded or waved.

Ace nodded to them. Finamore asked, "Do you recognize any of us?" Ace replied that he'd seen them in some of the photos. "You read the logs, right? Is it easier knowing what we look like now?"

The former captain shrugged but then said, "Not really. It feels kinda cold. Knowing what happened without not really being there. I mean, I was there, but it feels like I wasn't. Like I'm an outsider looking at someone else's stories. I know we went on fun adventures, but I don't remember them," he explained sadly.

Deuce put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "Well, why don't we all tell you about our joining?" They all agreed, and told Ace about their first encounters, and they spent a couple hours there, Ace listening intently, trying to memorize it all, trying to see the memories through eyes that had been there.

But unlike real memories, these were dull. No images, just assumptions of what happened. He didn't know the colors of the sky on the day he and Deuce met. Didn't know anything about Kotatsu, the cat they once had that they all spoke so fondly of. Kotatsu had died, apparently, and Ace felt nothing when it was said to him. He felt no loss, and felt like a cold hearted bastard.

He didn't notice curling into a ball, and Deuce put his arm around Ace. "It'll get better. You may not remember our old memories, but we'll make new ones, you just won't be the captain this time." Ace nodded, feeling weak at the moment, but the looks of understanding and sympathy in his old crew member's faces, his friends, made him feel much better. Made him feel like they didn't hate him for forgetting.

Ace said, "I have some questions. Was I the navigator? On our ship?" He searched their expressions, assuming he had been one. Why else would he be so good at it? But he was shocked.

"Nah, you sucked at it!" Ace looked shocked. If he wasn't a navigator on his old crew, why was he so damn good at making maps!? It made no sense! He just wanted things to make sense. His expression fell, and his hands dropped to his lap. Aggie 68 seemed to have noticed he said something wrong. "What's the matter?"

Ace looked to the side. "I'm an expert cartographer when I sleep walk. I could tell when there was a cyclone and nobody else knew it was coming. I just assumed I was good at navigating before, but if I wasn't, then I just don't have any idea what's going on," he confessed, his words ending with a sigh. The others looked shocked and confused. They had no answer for him.

"That's strange," Deuce said honestly. Ace nodded in agreement.

_Your training is over, Ace-kun. If I ever see you make a crappy map again, I'll bite my own tongue off._

Another thing going through his head that he didn't know the context of and just confused him more. Did someone he hadn't met teach him to make maps? When did that happen, if it didn't happen before he became a pirate, and Deuce had been with him from the beginning, then he would have been around for whoever that voice belonged to teaching him.

"Well, it's the New World. Strange things happening are a normal occurrence, right?" Ducky Bree said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess. But most of the things have some sort of explanation, right? I can just… suddenly draw maps? I thought maybe I had drawn those maps before, that I was remembering drawing them. How do I even have the measurements of those islands?"

Deuce spoke up. "I mean, you sucked at it pretty bad, but you did try. I remember when we first got the PoS - Piece of Spadile- you would steal maps from other ships. You would just record the measurements before you tried on your own. They were shit, though…"

Ace titled his head back. "Then how the hell can I make good maps?" he sighed. The former Spades had no answer for him. "Guys, I'm sorry about all of this happening. I know you'd much rather us just have kept going on all of our adventures."

"Well, you always did want to kill Whitebeard, so we were surprised you joined just like that!" Mihar said. Ace was shocked.

He looked down. "Why did I want to kill Whitebeard? I know I got in a fight, but I actively wanted to kill him?" The others shrugged while Deuce was the one to answer the question.

The former doctor/former first mate said, "You thought surpassing him would surpass your biological father. That was your plan from the start, right?" Ace was shocked. "Yeah, you told me when we met. Nobody else knows, I swear on my life." The former captain smiled at Deuce warmly. He's trusted Deuce enough to tell him his biggest secret. Or he was just stupid enough to do something liek that.

But Deuce hadn't turned him in or spilled the beans to anyone. He was a real friend. Ace could see them being close again. He looked to his old crew and new friends. "Thanks, for sticking around with me. I know I must have been a handful, just because it's _me._ So, thank you. And for not hating me for forgetting everything," the teen said, giving them warm smiles.

Ducky Bree said, "Well, it's not like you asked for this. It wouldn't be right to blame you. We'll just have to start from here and move on." Ace asked if that's what they wanted. That he would understand if they wanted to not join the Whitebeards.

Saber replied, "If the Whitebeards are nice enough for _you_ to trust, then why shouldn't we?" The others nodded, and Ace grinned, laying back on the grass. They talked for another two hours before they all got hungry.

Ace led them back to the ship, but made a detour straight to the navigation room. He had to show them he was being serious about the maps. He could tell they didn't believe him. And he then found another map in the cubby that hadn't been there the day before. Meaning he'd made that one last night, before he'd woken up completely in the hallway.

At least he put this one away properly. "I made these while sleepwalking," Ace said, walking around the curious second division members, seeing the new group of people waiting outside of the room.

Deuce took the map in shock. "Are you sure?" Ace pointed to his signature. "Wow. I don't know what to say." Ace sighed, and put it back away. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. C'mon, lets go introduce you to Pops or Whitebeard. I kinda didn't notice I started calling him that," Ace said a little shyly.


	6. Teach

**SoccerSarah01: Thank you! Lot's more of this story to come.**

**Otaku_Girl2176: I miss our baby Ace. He was so cute and sweet. I hate Teach, he better die painfully. He better be in more pain than Luffy was when he was fighting off the poison.**

**chalmao: Thank you! I'm glad this one stands out. BTW love your Hawks profile pic. I actually am in the process of editing a crossover with him and Luffy as main characters. It was so fun to write! 201,000 words is a lot to edit though lol.**

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Ace sat on the top yardarm, holding his newest map. It was of Dawn Island, only it wasn't perfect. He could tell. This one was different from the others. This one was based on experience, deep ingrained experience of his original home island. He'd even marked Sabo's grave and Luffy's old home that he stayed at in Foosha before he was dumped on Dadan.

He looked at the map that meant the most to him, and held it to his chest. "What's going on?" he asked quietly, remembering that disembodied voice, telling him about map making. He didn't say a word about it to anybody, and he had asked his new friends and old crew to not talk about Ace being a crappy cartographer. Or at least a crappy map maker.

He looked up at the moon before yawning and deciding he was ready to go to bed. He dropped from one yard arm to the one below until he landed lightly on the deck, rolling up his map and taking this one to his room. He should have taken Marco up on sleeping pills. He put the map in his trunk and changed into pajamas before going to bed, locking the door. A lock was put on it for him by Fossa, the head shipwright.

He had offered it to keep Ace from sleepwalking. After all, it was dangerous to sleep walk around a pirate ship in the first place. What if he fell overboard? He would drown for sure, especially since he was a devil fruit user.

The locked door kept him inside during the night, as he found himself lying against the bedroom door when he woke up. He scoffed and rolled his stiff neck. It hadn't been a comfortable position. He stood up and stretched, taking a clean pair of underwear to the bathhouse with him.

The Whitebeards had three bathhouses in the ship, two of them huge and one that was only for commanders. In the bathhouses were large bath tubs and shower stalls. Ace preferred the shower stalls, uncomfortable being naked in front of others he wasn't totally comfortable with. Bathing in the same tub as his closer friends would be awkward but not overly uncomfortable, but there were always tons of people in the bathhouses. So he stuck to the shower units that gave at least some privacy.

Ace did not enjoy seeing the junk of a thousand other men. Honestly who would? He put his clothes back on under the towel while others just walked around the room naked. Ace had to admire them in a sense. He didn't like seeing it, but they were either so confident or just didn't give a shit. Ace could respect both.

He went back to his room, and put the underwear in the sack everyone got for dirty clothes they'd turn in on a specific day of the week. With so many people, there was a lot of laundry to do. Ace looked back down at his trunk, and opened it to pull his special map out, holding it close and sitting on the bed.

His face crumpled slightly, and he fought off tears. He wanted to know what was wrong with him. Why he knew things he shouldn't, didn't remember things he should. Why he had a talent for a craft he'd never been taught. He was uncertain and felt lost.

There was a knock on his door, and he opened it to find Deuce. "Hey, Deuce," he said quietly. He opened the door wider for his first friend since Sabo to come in.

"How are you doing?" he asked, sitting on Ace's bed. He and the other former Spades were in a room that didn't fit them. The Whitebeards had gone into town and bought triple bunk beds so they were stuffed in another storage room like Ace, only it was more crowded. Ace wondered if the Whitebeards were unable to invite new people when they had no more room.

Saber was going to join the navigators since he was the official one on the former crew. The others were scattered about, wanting to branch off even if they'd be together at night. Ace wished he could reminisce with them, but he couldn't. He had to accept that. He had little hope that he'd ever remember.

"Okay. Not in a very good mood so far," Ace said honestly. Deuce asked if he wanted him to bring breakfast. "No, I'll come to breakfast. Thatch would worry," he said, and put his map back in, rolling it up and setting it back before closing and latching his trunk. He turned the lights off behind him and the two headed to the galley.

"This place is huge," Deuce commented. "I don't know how you don't get lost."

Ace looked away, but felt that, based on his past relations with this man, he could trust him. After all, he'd told him about his father. His biological father, which was reckless, but paid off as he hadn't told a soul. He was loyal, and Ace hoped he stuck around to be his friend even though things were different now. At least none of the former Spades had said anything about him acting differently.

"I knew the places on this ship when I woke up. I knew names and faces of some people, as well as details that only people knowing this ship personally would know. Thatch is the only other one who knows. Don't tell anyone else, okay?" Ace asked quietly. Deuce looked confused, but swore he'd say not a word.

He had a pondering expression on, though, clearly trying to think of an answer to why this had happened. "Ace? I'm sure things will work out in some way."

"Hope so," Ace replied with a strained smile. It seemed clear to those that were closer to Ace that he was stressed. Thatch approached him after lunch when the former Spades went to meet the commanders and learn how to be in their own new divisions, and asked Ace to come into the storage room with him.

"What's wrong, Ace?" Thatch asked the moment the door closed. Ace looked down and wrapped his arms around himself. Thatch was very concerned. "You can tell me anything, you know that." Ace nodded, knowing he could tell Thatch anything from the beginning. Well, anything about his life on the Moby. He would say nothing of his biological father. It didn't matter and he didn't want to speak of it.

He said, "My crew told me I wasn't the navigator. I wasn't even good at making maps or charts. I don't know how I have a talent for something I've never been taught. I didn't remember a thing, even after talking with them for hours. There was so much I've forgotten and missed out on. It's just made me a bit depressed, that's all," Ace explained honestly.

Thatch frowned and hugged him. Ace didn't hug him back at first before he wrapped his arms around his older brother. "I… I just want to remember. I don't want to know things that are stupid and useless. I want to remember my old life, even if I have a new one now," he lamented, fighting off tears.

Thatch said nothing as there was nothing to say. He just rubbed Ace's back until he composed himself. He pulled away and gave Ace a fond and understanding look. "Do you want to tell someone else about this? I'm sure Pops would be open to speaking about it," Thatch said kindly.

Ace didn't want to tell anyone else. He didn't want anyone else knowing there was something seriously wrong with him. "No, I don't want anyone else to know. Well, I told Deuce. Not everything, not yet," he replied.

Thatch didn't press him, which Ace was thankful for. "Alright. If you ever want anyone else to know, I know Pops would listen. Even Marco would listen and not tell anyone else. Thank you for trusting me first. I know it was an accident, telling me the things in the start, but thank you for continuing to still be honest with me. It means a lot," Thatch said, teary eyed. "You're the best little brother ever!" and he hugged Ace again.

Ace smiled and patted his back with a small chuckle. "I trust you with everything, big bro," Ace said with a grin.

"Aww, so sweet you're gonna break my heart!" Ace asked why him being nice would break his heart. "Okay, then it's so sweet you'll give me cavities. That makes more sense, doesn't it?" Ace nodded, grinning. "Well, I should go start to clean up."

Ace nodded, and they walked out, Ace feeling better now than he had before.

That day, Teach and his group were coming back to the ship after their long mission, and everyone was excited to see them after the long break. Ace wondered what Teach looked like instead of his silhouette that was all that was in his head. He didn't know anything else about Teach, but that was how it was for everyone that popped into his head.

He had their name and a vague knowing of what they looked like. Some more than others. And only some he met had an affiliation, friend or family. He already knew the Spades were his friends, so those thoughts didn't go through his mind.

He was so happy Thatch had been the first to approach him. If it hadn't been him who found out about Ace knowing things he shouldn't, he didn't know what would have happened. If it was Haruta, he was sure it would have been fine. Marco would have been suspicious, and anyone else would not have welcomed him. He knew the commanders enough to be able to tell.

_Second division commander._

Ace rolled his eyes as he mopped the deck. That thought was going through his head less than it had, but it still occasionally popped up, with him still not knowing what the point of it was. Perhaps a second division commander would be named soon. But he said nothing of it.

It was hot outside, and everyone else out on deck was sweating. It was a summer island, even though the year was approaching Christmas time. He'd never celebrated it on Dawn Island, and had only heard of it some time during his pirate journey. He didn't remember celebrating it with the Spades, and there wasn't exactly any log about that kind of thing. He missed out on all of the small things that made him bond with his former crew. It made him sad.

His birthday would be coming in a few months as well. He'd be turning 20. He wondered what he did for his last two birthdays. The Whitebeards didn't know about his oddly placed birthday, on exactly New Years day. He would probably tell them or they'd get mad once it came out and they knew they'd skipped it altogether.

After finishing mopping the deck, Ace dumped the water over the side and squeezed the water out of the mop before taking them back to the supply closet that had most of the cleaning equipment used for the deck or cleaning the sails.

Ace headed into the navigation room, asking if there was anything he could do to help. "Yes, we need to get Marco. Will you bring him? He's in charge now," Dex said. Ace stuck to a few of the members in his division who he'd known since the start. They made him more comfortable to talk to even though everyone was polite to him and engaged with him. He wished he could have another moment where he predicted some freak weather occurrence, but he hadn't and they were also docked at an island while they waited for the long lost crew.

Everyone was a bit distracted from that, looking forward to reuniting. He found Marco, and brought him to the navigation room before leaving to look for his old crew and see how they were doing.

But, he was on his way inside when shouting was made. "They're back, I see them!" someone called, who Ace didn't know personally, and people rushed past him, making him bump around in a crowd of excited pirates. Ace followed them, though at a slower pace, and looked over the railing, seeing a smaller boat that wasn't _too_ small come to the docks.

There was the large man, Teach. He saw his features for the first time. He was… interesting looking. Ace wondered how he lost all of those teeth and if it interfered with eating, though he'd never ask something rude like that. Ace backed up when a plank was lowered before the ship was incredibly _taken apart_ on land quickly, the pieces taken inside.

Ace looked shocked, and Ichimi, someone who had repaired Ace's bed when the crappy base had broken. "There's no way to get that ship on board in any other way. When it's needed, we just rebuild it," he explained with a laugh at Ace's expression.

"Wow. That's incredible," Ace said simply, and the shipwright rubbed under his nose, making Ace the one to laugh. Ace offered to help carry supplies back to the area near the brig, which he was told was pretty much never used. But they couldn't store anything there since it was damp inside and would ruin any wood stored inside.

Ace carried a lot, being strong, and was pleased when he was told he was helpful. Then, everyone was out to greet Teach and the others who went with him. Ace and the other newbys watched from a distance, feeling out of place in the happy reunion.

After the greetings, Thatch excitedly led Teach to the group of newcomers, and introduced them. "Nice to meet'cha! I'm Teach," he said, and held out his hand. Ace shook it and said he'd heard that name a lot. The others shook his hand as well. When Thatch mentioned Ace had amnesia, Teach looked interested.

"Did you hit your head?" he wondered. Ace shook his head.

"We don't know what happened. I just don't remember the last two years," he replied honestly. Everyone knew that fact, it wasn't something hidden or worth hiding. Teach looked intrigued, and said that was strange. "Yeah, it is," Ace agreed.

Then Teach made the connection that these newcomers were once a crew, and Ace didn't remember. The man made a sad face. "This is your old crew? And you don't remember them?"

Ace shook his head. "I don't remember any of the time with them," he said quietly. Teach apologized, sounding sincere. He seemed like a nice guy, even if he didn't look so nice. But, looks could clearly be deceiving. Some of the commanders that looked mean or scary weren't. Namur had a sense of humor, even if it was dry. Fossa was actually a softly with his division. Looks could definitely be deceiving.

When the crowd of happy pirates went inside or greeted one another, there was a party planned that night. Ace hadn't had a Whitebeard party yet. This party was meant to celebrate Ace and his old crew joining and the return of their family that had been gone for months.

Ace didn't remember ever drinking alcohol, but Mihar said he liked whisky the most, even when they couldn't stand it. Ace looked forward to trying it. "But beware, you turn into a giggling mess when you get smashed," Finamore said in a teasing voice, and Ace blushed. They laughed and Ace grumbled that they were jerks.

It was a nice moment. It felt… normal. It made him smile, and he looked forward to the party. It wouldn't be long now, since it was afternoon and the party would be at night. There would be barbecues on deck with a ridiculous amount of booze placed strategically around the deck.

Ace finally noticed the dog was here, as it had been quiet. Stefan was _not_ what he expected. Ace had expected some huge, monstrous dog that looked like a total badass. That was wrong, Stefan was a small, white terrier, who went running about the deck and to Pops, who picked him up like a baby, the dog barking happily. Ace laughed behind his hand and Marco was there. "Not what you expected?"

"Not at all. I expected some huge hound or something," Ace replied. Marco chuckled.

"Stefan was an accident. He just showed up on the ship one day and we decided to keep him. He likes going on missions, so sometimes he goes with the groups that leave," Marco explained. "So, can you hold your sake? Do you know?" he questioned.

"According to my old crew, I liked whisky most, and turn into a giggling mess if I get too drunk," Ace answered. "I don't know how much I can handle, but I guess we'll see." Marco nodded, saying he wasn't the only one who was like that. Thatch giggled a lot when he was drunk, too.

He laughed and said, "You two were made to be best friends. I'm kinda jealous." Ace looked at him confused and asked why. "Well you guys clearly are in one something no one else is. I just wish I could be in on it, too. I bet it's from the beginning, which is why you guys clicked so quickly," the phoenix zoan observed.

Ace looked back to Pops and the dog. "You're right about some things. It's from the beginning, and no one else knows. Well, Deuce knows a bit, but not much. He knew a big secret I told him over our journey, so I feel I can trust him with this."

Marco frowned. "You can't trust me with it?" he asked a bit sadly, and Ace felt bad. He knew he trusted Marco, but he didn't want anyone thinking he was a freak. He wasn't ready to tell another Whitebeard pirate. It had been an accident in the beginning that he couldn't control.

"I didn't mean to tell Thatch in the first place. It just happened, and I can't change it now. I don't want anyone else to know. At least, not now. It's nothing personal, I promise," Ace said sincerely. Marco looked curious that Ace hadn't meant to say anything. But he nodded, even if he still looked slightly sad.

Ace felt guilty, but he wasn't telling Marco. At least, not yet. He was sure the truth would get out some time, hopefully once he was more integrated in the crew. Closer to everyone, besides Thatch. So he was completely trusted by everyone.

The party that night was set up before dinner was being made. Thatch and his fellow chefs rolled out massive grills that Ace had seen in one of the storage rooms once he decided to explore more, some things he had been fuzzy with in the beginning. Kabobs were made, long and full of juicy meat and seasoned vegetables.

Kegs were placed around the deck, and people sat in groups. Ace sat with Thatch, Marco, Haruta and the former Spades. They were talking, with them slurring more of their words as the night went on. Ace, after his fifth cup of whisky, was giggling with Thatch, whispering in each other's ears, nothing important.

Thatch suddenly started laughing again. "I heard a fart," he whispered, and Ace erupted into giggles, both of them finding it the funniest thing in the whole world at the moment. Marco looked at both of them in amusement.

Deuce was perfectly composed even though he'd had more to drink than Ace. multiple of the other former Spades and Haruta were knocked out. Marco was speaking to Deuce about what had happened with Ace since he joined. The freckled teen didn't notice they were talking about him, and commented that Ace sounded adorable.

"He sounds so… cuuute. Lil' freckles, aww," he slurred, taking another gulp of whisky. The others laughed at him, and he started laughing, too, before he blacked out, finally succumbing to the alcohol. Thatch drew pictures on his face with a marker.

Ace's former first mate carried him to his room and tucked him in. Ace did not sleepwalk that night, and slept deeply through the whole thing and deep into the morning, before he got up and joined his brothers in the bathroom, suffering from mass hangovers.

"We-clome to the family," someone from Namur's division said, patting Ace's back as he vomited. But, he lit himself on fire and burned the sickness out, soon just fine. He grinned and laughed. He wouldn't suffer from hangovers!

When he went into the galley, he found no one there, but food was put out already. It all looked like leftovers, and Thatch wasn't there, most likely sick as well. _Bellamy came back, what a loser._ Ace jerked upright, and sighed at the voice in his head. It had been a few days, and he hadn't seen Bellamy or the guy dressed for a winter island.

If they came back, they were stupid. Or maybe they didn't believe Ace was a Whiteberd. There was no point in telling anyone about some small time pirates attacking, so he decided to take care of it himself. He took his tray of food outside, passing pirates green in the face, and sat on the railing, keeping look out as he ate and hummed a tune he remembered the pirates singing the night before.

After he finished eating, he still waited. Marco came up. "Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked, leaning against the railing with his forearms.

Ace looked up and said, "I burned the sickness out and feel fine." Then he looked back out and at the town. Marco asked what he was doing. "Just chilling," Ace lied simply. "Everyone is throwing up right now. Why aren't you hungover?"

"My fruit keeps me from being sick like that. Or sick in general," the commander replied. Ace asked what he liked most about his fruit. "Definitely flying. It's so freeing, like the rest of the world disappears. It's amazing," he said with a smile.

The freckled teen looked up, thinking about what it must be like to fly. It would be amazing. "That would be awesome," Ace agreed. "I wish I could fly. Might be scary, I don't know." Marco grinned, and asked if he wanted to go on a flight with Marco. "How?" He said he'd carry him on his back. Ace looked back at the sky and then down at the docks.

He didn't see anyone suspicious, so he grinned and took Marco up on his offering. He climbed onto Marco's back, wrapping his legs and arms around Marco's torso like he was told. Then Marco took off, and went into the air.

Ace was immediately terrified. He had never been afraid of being up high at Dawn Island, but that was on tree branches! "Putmedownputmedownputmedown!" Ace screeched, and Marco lowered back them back to the deck. Ace got off and leaned over, hands on his thighs, breathing heavily.

Marco started laughing behind him. "I don't remember being afraid of heights!" Ace shot at him, and Marco put his hands up in a calming gesture.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wasn't expecting that reaction," he said, and Ace pouted at him, turning away to see a group of people lead by the snow-glasses-guy. The youngest said he'd be right back, had something to take care of. Marco questioned what it was, but Ace had already dropped onto the deck and ran to the people he'd been waiting for.

This was different. He didn't know this already. It wasn't a small thing he shouldn't know but did. This was knowing something that would happen in the future. Or maybe he knew that Bellamy was the kind of guy to come back, not that he definitely would. It was weird either way, but Ace did his best not to think about it. Not to think about how he knew this.

Ace didn't doubt the voice in his head much anymore, except when it said stupid things that had no real context that he couldn't figure out. Like "second division commander". He wished there was something more to explain that.

"I thought you would have learned not to mess with us by last time," Ace said simply, not getting why anyone would go after the Whitebeards. But when they looked at the ship behind Ace, they backed up. Oh, apparently they didn't actually think he was a Whitebeard. After all, if they checked up on him afterwards, it didn't show that he was under Whitebeard, but was part of the Spade pirates.

They'd need to fix that. "Did you not think I was a Whitebeard?" Ace wondered. They glared at him, and he lit his fist on fire. They promptly ran screaming. "Hey!" he shouted angrily, looking forward to a fight. And Marco was right there to see he was at least okay at fighting! He moped and stomped back to the ship. Marco asked what that was all about. "I beat up their captain a couple days ago. They didn't believe that I was a Whitebeard," he grumbled, kicking his booted toe into the deck.

Marco grinned. "We can fix that. It's about time you got the mark, don't you think?" he asked and pointed to the tattoo on his chest. Ace's face brightened and he nodded. "Since the tattooist is probably hung over, how about we do it tomorrow, or the next day? Maybe it could be on your other arm, like your tribute tattoo?"

They'd learned long ago what the "ASCE" tattoo on his shoulder was for. "I'd rather have it somewhere more noticeable," Ace said, putting a finger to his chin. Marco suggested he could do it on his chest and continue to wear open shirts. Ace thought for a moment. "That'd already been done here. How about on my back?" he offered.

That sounded good. More people would notice it, it would be more obvious. "A shirt would cover it, though," the first mate pointed out.

Ace grinned and said, "Then I guess I'll just have to stop wearing shirts. I can't get cold or sunburnt, after all." Marco smiled back. Then he asked, curiously, how Ace knew that those pirates would be coming. Ace froze up from that, and Marco immediately said Ace didn't need to tell him. He was glad Marco did that and didn't press.

"Thanks," he said sincerely, getting a smile from Ace.

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**So yeah. Ace doesn't remember what Teach did (will do). And you thought this would be like my other ones. Mwahaha. We'll be dealing with a traitor for awhile.**


	7. A Different Perspective

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: Yay!**

**Im_sailing_away: Definitely different than what I think people were expecting. And there is stuff leading up to it later, causing lots of drama! I can't wait to post those parts.**

**chalmao: Thank you! I understand, I have so many pictures of Hawks in my pinterest board for bnha. lol.**

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**For the part having to do with a Wano character, it's a small spoiler. I've highlighted it so you can skip it if you wish. Enjoy~**

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Ace went to the navigation room in the morning to check if he'd made any maps, since he'd forgotten to lock the bedroom door the night before, too tired to remember. He looked in his cubby, and found one more map, only this one was more crumpled and had not been put away neatly.

He uncrumpled it to see it was a sketch of water 7. Not too accurate, but the shape seemed correct enough. Maybe that's why he crumpled it. Sleep-Ace didn't like how it turned out apparently. When he was deciding whether to throw it away or not, Aioba came in. Ace folded it and stuffed it back in his cubby before leaving, not wanting to get in a tiff with him in the morning.

He said nothing of Aioba not supposed to be in there after ruining his map. He still had a few weeks of being suspended from his position. He just didn't want to deal with his bad attitude. Ace ran into Teach around the corner, and apologized before realizing who it was.

"Yo, Ace! I've been wanting to talk to you. I heard about your map making skills," the hairy man said.

"Oh. What did you want to talk about?" Ace wondered.

Teach said, "I just wanted to ask how you learned it while being so young. You've only been a pirate for a few years right? And usually the captain isn't the navigator either, if you know what I mean." _Second division commander._

Ace held in a huff. "I don't remember learning. It must have been some time during my pirate journey that I just don't remember. Besides, so far I'm best at it when half-asleep," Ace explained. Teach looked interested, but didn't ask further.

"Well, I'm sure you'll be helpful with that," he said happily. "It's nice to be back with everyone. Missed everyone. Especially Thatch's cooking. He's a good guy." Ace nodded, saying he clicked with Thatch in the beginning. "He's easy to make friends with. He was super popular when he first came."

Ace asked what it was like, being one of the first to come. "It was interesting to see the crew grow to this massive size. I can't remember everyones' names even though we're all brothers!" Ace asked why he didn't want to be a commander if he was one of the originals. "I don't think I'd ever be a good leader. A commander or captain. I'd rather others do that work for me," he said, sounding sheepish.

"I can understand that, I guess. My crew said I was a good captain, so that's nice to know. Would have sucked if I was a terrible leader or something," Ace said with a laugh. _Second division commander._ He didn't know what else to say. So he asked if he knew what time they were leaving.

"Not sure. I'm not a commander, you should ask Marco. He's in his office, I think," Teach said, and Ace nodded thanking him before heading to Marco's office. He didn't remember ever going there, but he knew where it was. Like he knew where most things were. He even knew where the drawer holding all the replacement pens and pencils were. That was the first week he'd been there. Thatch had been surprised before he started to just expect Ace to know things he shouldn't.

Ace found Marco working in his office with glasses on, and knocked on the doorframe. Marco turned around in his wheely chair. "Oh, hey, Ace. What's up? I'm just doing paperwork."

"Paperwork sucks," Ace said, like he had experience in it. Marco nodded, and asked if he did a lot of paperwork on his ship. "I assume. I was captain. I guess I just remember it sucking. When are we leaving the island?" he asked, getting to what he'd come for.

Marco took his glasses off and said, "By lunchtime. We usually leave island midday so everyone is fed in case there's an attack on our way off an island. Did Teach tell you where to go to come here? Nobody but the commanders come here. Don't worry, you're not in trouble."

Ace didn't want to lie. He felt bad lying to Marco, since he was so nice and understanding about Ace. "I don't know. I guess I was lucky finding it?" he said honestly.

"Hmm, lucky guess then. I'm just gonna finish up and then come out. Be ready to help us leave," he said, and Ace nodded, leaving him to his work. He walked back down the hall before slowing, looking in one of the offices. It was bare inside, and he hesitantly looked around inside. It was smaller than Marco's was.

He touched the deck, wiping dust off of it. This was no doubt the unused second division commander's office. Ace felt it should be full of paperwork and files. And maps and charts that weren't in the navigation room for some reason.

It felt wrong for it to be empty. Ace just shrugged off the feeling, and left, heading back to Thatch. He didn't look inside the other offices, since the doors were shut fully and he didn't want to snoop, as it was none of his business. _Second division commander._

"God damn, shut up," Ace grumbled to himself. He headed to the galley to find Thatch moping at the counter. Ace walked to him and asked what the problem was. Thatch pouted at him, and Ace worried he'd done something wrong.

"You didn't tell me first about getting the mark on your back. I thought we were BFFs!" Thatch lamented. Ace laughed, and said Marco had asked, and Ace would have been rude to ignore him about it. "Still! I'm your confidant!"

Ace replied, "Well, it wasn't really any secret. Everyone would find out eventually, right?" He sat down next to Thatch, taking an apple from the fruit basket that was always there for people to snack on.

Thatch grumbled, "Stop being reasonable."

"Well, one of us has to be," he said, and Thatch lightly shoved his arm before they both started laughing. "Another weird thing popped into my head just now. The feeling of doing paperwork and stuff, even though I don't remember doing stuff like that as a captain. I mean, I don't remember anything about that time, but I feel like I can tell when something pops into my head, if it's one of the things I shouldn't know," Ace explained.

Thatch leaned forward and said, "Maybe you were a workaholic or something? Or you might do some paperwork soon. Usually your thought-thingies come before you do something regarding that, right?"

Ace nodded, but asked why he would do paperwork. He wasn't a lead in his own division. He was good at maps when he slept, and was getting better at predicting weather like a normal navigator, but he didn't have any reason to do paperwork like the leaders of his division.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe we'll find out soon," Thatch replied. _Second division commander._

Ace finally said something about it. "Thatch, will you guys choose a second division commander soon?"

Thatch put his chin in his hand and said, "Well, we can't just shove someone in the spot. They have to fit multiple criteria. So, I'm not sure who we'd choose right now. It's been empty a real long time, and even though it would be nice for us to not rotate, I think we're doing just fine now."

"Hmm," Ace mumbled. "Weird. I feel like someone will be appointed to that seat. Don't know when or why. I wish I could get some context about it. Maybe I just want a permanent commander. Having a clearcut leader would be nice, even though it's helpful getting to know more commanders," he mused. Thatch nodded.

 **"The last commander we had ran off with Gold Roger.** I wasn't there when that happened, but his story was pretty funny!" Ace looked shocked.

He asked, **"Roger stole one of your crew members? And you didn't get angry?"** He knew the Pirate King was a terrible person, surely Whitebeard would have retaliated with him leaving with one of his members, and a leader at that!

Thatch replied, "Roger had a weird relationship with us. He was sort of a friend, but also a rival. **And Oden left willingly to go on another adventure.** I know Pops was pissed about it, even after the Roger Pirates give us a shit ton of presents. Nobody knows what happened to Oden, though," he explained.

Ace had thought that Roger was Pops' enemy, not a friend of some sort. It made him confused. Why would Whitebeard be a friend with someone so heinous? Roger was hated by the world, Ace had learned that the hard way. Gramps had told him he could tell no one, besides Sabo and Luffy. And Dadan may have known, too, but said nothing. "I thought Roger was a terrible person. Why would Pops be friends with someone so awful?"

Thatch shrugged. "I wasn't around back then. I've only been here fifteen years. That was over 20 years ago, so I didn't have the pleasure to meet them. Shanks was the cabin boy on Roger's ship." He added, "If you want to know those times, I suggest you ask Pops or Marco."

Ace stood up immediately, thanking Thatch, and hurrying out of the room to find Pops. He wasn't out on deck, and not in the galley, so Ace went to the infirmary, just thinking Pops might be having a check up by the nurses. Ace had been right with Whiskey being scary. Tami was nicer. He did find Pops in the infirmary, walking out as he reached the door.

"Hello, son," Whitebeard said, then noticed Ace's expression, one of confusion and just looking lost. "Are you alright?" Ace looked surprised before he composed his expression and nodded.

"Thatch told me you were friends with Roger. I was wondering if you would tell me about it? I always heard he was a terrible person. I just can't see you being friends with someone so horrible," Ace said honestly. He was just leaving some details out, but what he'd said was not a lie.

Whitebeard nodded, and said he'd be glad to talk about those times. Ace smiled and followed him out on deck. It was still an hour before they were leaving the island for the next one. He sat in his throne, and Ace sat on the armrest. Marco usually sat on Whitebeard's shoulder, teased about being a parrot with his owner.

"Roger and I were rivals, but also friends and drinking buddies, much like I am with Shanks now. He was a strange one," and Whitebeard told Ace about all of the times he met the man, fighting with him but then drinking happily. "I was pissed at that man for stealing one of my sons, vacating the second division seat for the last twenty years. It was then that he told me he was sick and dying. He wanted to have the best adventure, and taking Oden with him would have helped him with that goal."

Ace was frowning deeply, confused with the conflicting things he was hearing. He had been told by everyone he'd ever spoken to about it (besides Luffy) that Roger was a monster, and any of his family should be killed. Ace may not remember much about himself after becoming a pirate, but he knew he'd hated him from the moment he was first yelled at about it.

"Then, the last time he'd visited me was when he was very near death. He wouldn't stop talking about a woman he'd met. Rouge, her name was. It was almost disgusting how deeply in love he was with her! Gurarara, it was a side I never saw of Roger. But, he was happy in the end," Pops finished. Ace was looking at the deck and not at Pops. "Are you alright, son?"

"Y-Yeah. Just surprised and all. I'd only heard bad things about him. I have to go to the bathroom," Ace said, and hurried inside, only to go to his bedroom, locking the door and laying on the bed under the blankets, shoes still on. He was so confused. He hated the man, he made Ace's life so much harder. He hated him for his relation to him.

It was only about 20 minutes later that there was a soft knock on his door. He sighed, putting a pillow over his head before there was another knock. Ace huffed and sat up, unlocking the doorknob and opening it to find Pops there, looking concerned. "Are you alright?" he asked in worry. Ace nodded, looking down. "Was it something about Roger?"

"I… just have always heard terrible things about him. It's weird, hearing the other side, that's all," Ace replied.

Pops asked, "Do you wish to talk about it?"

_We are all children of the sea. Who your father is doesn't matter._

It was another quote that popped into his head, the least occurring thing. Usually, when it did happen, it was just knowing something, not hearing another's voice, Pops voice this time. He looked up at the man, brows furrowed and hands in balls. "Can we talk about it later?"

Whitebeard smiled. "Of course. We must leave the port now, so we need all hands on deck." Ace nodded and followed his captain out, closing his bedroom door behind him. He helped to move the ship, and it took many to help, the strongest of them doing the most work, which were the commanders, Ace, Teach and a handful of others including Deuce. Others did the more supporting tasks, and soon they were following the log pose to the most relaxed island. It was a majority vote with the commanders on which island to go to, and they chose the calmest one. So, that's where they were headed.

They made their way through a huge storm, everyone bolting things to the deck beforehand and working to survive it. Ace wished he'd known about it sooner, but storms were a normal occurrence. Cyclones like one that formed that suddenly with barely any warning were less often.

Aioba looked at him haughtily, and Ace scowled. "Hey, you did nothing to help either you know," Teach said to Aioba, noticing his look.

"If I weren't suspended then it wouldn't have been a problem! You don't get to talk when you're totally useless to our division!" Aioba shot back. Teach just shrugged, saying he was at least not an asshole to his fellow division members. "It's him! He pisses me off all the time!"

Ace shot back, "I don't even do anything to you. I don't talk to you. It's not my fault you're jealous of someone younger than you." He didn't yell, but his words were harsh. A small crowd was gathering around, watching the argument.

Kingdew came over and stopped it. "Aioba, stop trying to provoke Ace. It's pointless when you're always the instigator. Ace, move along and do your best to ignore any nasty looks." Ace nodded, sending one final glare to the asshole and walking off.

He headed to the crowsnest, and sat down, stewing, irritated with the guy he did nothing to do with! He never talked to him, he just did his best to be helpful. It wasn't Ace's fault he was good at things Aioba wasn't. It wasn't his fault that he knew how to do things he thought he shouldn't. His old crew told him he never made good maps and couldn't predict weather to shit, so he didn't exactly train himself. The talent popped out of nowhere, and Ace didn't ask for it. Ace took some deep breaths, before dropping down.

-x-

They were a few hours from the island, and Ace suddenly stopped thinking, and looked to the front of them. He saw nothing wrong, but recognized that feeling. Something bad was there, even if they couldn't see it. Or at least, he couldn't see it.

He dropped down to the deck and ran into the navigator's room, getting a pair of binoculars that were hanging on a hook with many other pairs, with telescopes in little boxes in the wall. He hurried to the figurehead, looking and seeing dead sea kings floating in the water, which was slightly steaming, but barely noticeable.

Was the water there super hot that it killed sea kings? Would that damage the ship? Well, they shouldn't risk it. They had time to bypass it. He hurried back to the navigation room and to one of his fellow division members who was often at the helm. "I think we should turn the ship to the starboard slightly," Ace said nervously, not knowing how anyone but Aioba would react to him suggesting them move the ship.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"I think the water in front of us is boiling. There are floating lumps that I think are dead sea kings," Ace explained.

"Alright," the pirate agreed, and tilted the wheel enough to change the course a bit. Ace walked out, glad that it wasn't a problem this time, and stood at the side of the ship, watching as they got closer to where he had a bad feeling. He did indeed see burnt sea kings, floating dead on the water.

Fossa was suddenly there. "Who, what the hell?" Ace looked up, but said nothing and then looked back at the water. "Wow, that water was boiling. Would'a fucked up the ship. Who noticed it?" he asked conversationally. He looked like he'd be mean, but he was pretty nice.

Ace admitted that he noticed it. A huge hand slapped his back, and he almost stumbled forward into the railing a bit. "Nice! You sure are useful to be around!" Ace turned red and quietly thanked the commander. "Anytime, you just keep following your instincts."

"Okay," Ace said, feeling good. His argument with Aioba was forgotten from the high of saving the ship from damage and getting a compliment by one of the leaders he wasn't friends with. Fossa left, and Whitebeard was there.

"Son, when would you like to talk about it?" he asked. Ace looked at the deck.

"After dinner?" he asked quietly. Whitebeard said that was fine, and said he'd heard about his argument with Aioba. "I didn't even do anything to him. It's so annoying," Ace grumbled.

The captain said, "Sadly, no one will ever get along with everyone on the ship. Everyone will always have someone that grates on their nerves. It's just worse since you usually work with him. But, he still is banned from his usual work for over two more weeks."

"...He's been doing stuff in the navigation room even though he shouldn't. I didn't want to tattle, but he pissed me off. So I'm being immature," Ace said honestly, causing Whitebeard to laugh.

"I admire your honesty. I will speak to him, and not tell him you were the one to say something. I encourage everyone to report any wrongdoings of any kind so we can deal with them promptly," Pops said simply. Ace nodded, saying he would.

Ace took a bath a big after that, a towel draped over his crotch, feeling embarrassed whenever someone else came in, but they used the other baths when they did. If there was one open, usually the pirates choose that one over one with someone else in it. Ace was grateful for that, and relaxed into the water that drained his energy, but he was shallow enough to be able to get out on his own.

He mostly soaked, didn't wash his body, and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. The water got cool, and Ace was unable to use his power in the water to heat it himself, so he got out after that, and headed to the galley for dinner.

When he sat down at his division's table between those he usually sat next to, he didn't expect to be thanked for detouring the ship. Ace blushed, and said that anybody could have noticed it. "I saw it better in the binoculars. It was nothing special."

"Yeah, but you noticed it without the binoculars! How do you do it?" Dex wondered. Saber was there, too, smiling at him. Deuce walked over not long after and sat across from Ace. While it wasn't prohibited for other pirates to sit there, it didn't happen often, since most were friends with those they spent most time with, their division.

Ace said, "I don't know. I just got a bad feeling again in that general direction."

"Well, it really helped us out, so good job!" Ace thanked them awkwardly. He still wasn't used to compliments, for any reason. He didn't know if his own crew complimented him a lot, as he didn't remember, but it still made him feel awkward.

-x-

Ace sat on the huge recliner bolted to the floor across from Pops' bed in his room, which was huge and the only room on the ship that Ace knew had carpet instead of wood flooring. "So, what would you like to talk about?" the captain asked with an encouraging smile.

The teen looked at the floor. "You did like Roger, right? You didn't want him dead or anything?"

"Of course not. As I said, we were on friendly terms," Whitebeard replied patiently. Ace took a shaky, deep breath and said it.

"He's my father." Whitebeard looked confused, no doubt thinking the timelines didn't line up. But he didn't look like he thought Ace was lying. He had no reason to lie like this while looking so nervous and upset. People knew by now that Ace wasn't the best at hiding his emotions, especially strong ones. "My mom carried me for twenty months. She died after giving birth to me."

Whitebeard looked shocked, and said, "I am not upset with your heritage. We are all children of the sea. Who your father is doesn't matter." Ace knew he would say those words, and smiled. "I will tell no one of this. But your father was not a monster. Though I can understand your negative feelings. Just his name must have given you a hard time," the captain said kindly.

Ace nodded, saying things weren't easy when he was told a kid of Roger should be killed before they grew up. "No one here will ever think that. We are your family, now," Whitebeard replied. "You will always be welcome here."

"Thanks, Pops," Ace said in a relieved voice. "I'm glad I woke up here, and was friends with Thatch and then everyone else." Whitebeard laughed and smiled, replying that he fit in perfectly. _Second division commander._ Ace ignored it.


	8. Another New Talent

**iMeshls: Thank you!**

**chalmao: I made Aioba as much of an asshole as I could lol. Glad it's working.**

**Aesa: I'm sure Ace would have been happier if he didn't hate Roger and so didn't think he was a devil's child. Poor baby had so many self-esteem issues.**

**Otaku_Girl2176: There's a lot of Teach interactions that I think people will get angry about lol. Showing how he really acted like a nice guy but really wasn't.**

**Guest2: Don't worry, the story is finished and edited already, so I won't be dropping it!**

* * *

"It'll sting a bit," Izo warned, gloves on and tattoo gun in hand. Ace nodded barely, lethargic from the seastone to keep him solid so the needle wouldn't just go through his skin and into the fire. Thatch was there, reading a book in a chair in the corner. He had insisted he come, too, even though he wouldn't be doing anything to help.

The needle did sting, felt weird, but didn't really feel painful. Just uncomfortable. The tattoo would take multiple sessions due to its size and that it was completely filled in. it would not be the same as Marco's, but of the image on their jolly roger. It would be purple and white. He looked forward to finally being a complete Whitebeard.

After talking with Pops about Roger and his heritage, Ace felt so welcome here. It felt like a real family. He may not be close to a lot of the crew yet, but he was friendly with most. There were a handful that didn't seem like him, but Aioba was the only one who was actively rude to him.

He'd be coming back next week. They'd left that island last Thursday. Nothing big had happened, and not much had popped into Ace's head for the last couple of days since there wasn't really anything going on other than normal days of sailing. No new people or new things. He was learning more about navigation, even though most of the information was in his head now.

He didn't want to stop the lessons while suddenly knowing everything he was being taught and didn't know before. It would be weird, and he didn't want to be seen any weirder than he already was.

When the tattoo session that day was done, a bandage was put on the outline and then his shirt over it. When he went out on deck, his open shirt showing the bandages wrapped around his chest, people asked him how his tattoo went excitedly.

"It's gonna take a couple days. My fruit makes me heal quickly, so hopefully it won't take too long," Ace explained to many of his brothers. It ached, but wasn't too painful. As long as no one hit it or bumped into it, it shouldn't hurt too bad.

He realized that a lot of the pirates' marks weren't visible. Thatch's was on his ankle, and Izo's was over his heart, along with many other commanders whose tattoos were out of view. Ace wanted to show his off as much as possible. Show he had a family and hopefully the world would realize he was now a Whitebeard, even if he wasn't prominent on the crew. Just a regular member.

 _Second division commander._ He ignored it, like usual.

Haruta walked over and asked how the session went. "It was uncomfortable being in the seastone, but it wasn't too bad," Ace replied. They were both heading to lunch, which was sandwiches so Thatch didn't need to cook and was able to support Ace while he had the inking done.

"I can't wait to see it! The ladies at the protected islands are gonna be all over you~" Haruta teased, and Ace flushed. When he told the others besides Marco he'd get the tattoo and have his shirt off, the teasing had started. Well, there was no going back now. But he knew his brothers would laugh at him if anyone flirted with him.

He'd never been interested in romance. In men or women, and he was a pirate, he couldn't exactly have a partner. He just didn't care. The men talked about going to brothels, but Ace was absolutely not interested at all. "I'd rather go eat."

"You'd choose food over women?" Rayuko had questioned.

"Every time," Ace had replied honestly, and everyone cracked up into laughter. Ace smiled sheepishly.

-x-

"Ace? Buddy?" Thatch asked, seeing Ace standing in the navigation room, looking absolutely exhausted but unaware of his surroundings. He was sleeping. Ace sniffled at the noise and looked up, but said nothing. Thatch walked closer, and looked at what Ace was doing.

It was hard to see in the light, but it wasn't a map, but a sea chart. He touched Ace's back, and then took the pen from his hand. "Ace, why don't we get you to bed, hmm?" Thatch said softly. Ace mumbled something, but then left the room, Thatch followed closely. Ace went to his room and opened the door before walking to the bed and flopping down on his stomach, passing out. Thatch pulled his legs up onto the bed and tucked him in before closing the door softly.

In the morning, Ace was getting breakfast when Thatch came up to him. "Hey, buddy! So, new talent found," he said. Ace looked confused, and Thatch pulled out a folded piece of paper in his pocket. He laid it down in front of Ace. "Found you sleep walking and making this."

_It's not hard to learn this._

_Yes it is! Sea charts are not like mapping islands._

_Well, you'll learn whether you think it's easy or not._

_You can't do that!_

_Oh, yes I can. You're my student, I'll teach you what I want._

Ace blinked a few times. That was the longest conversation he'd ever heard in his head, but still didn't recognize the voice. Someone had taught him mapping _and_ making sea charts? "Ace?" The young man looked surprised and asked, "I made this?"

"Yeah. It's not finished, but I found you in there and then took you back to bed," Thatch explained. "Another mystery talent?" he wondered.

Ace sighed, "Guess so. I feel like someone did teach me, but I can't remember where or when. And my old crew said I never learned from anybody while I was a pirate. I'm confused," Ace grumbled while sitting at the open part of the bar counter.

Thatch had sparkles in his eyes. "You're from the future!"

Ace scoffed. "I really, really doubt that," he replied. "I'm just weird. I don't have an explanation, but I really don't think I time traveled." Thatch pouted, and said he wasn't so sure. "No forming conspiracy theories about me. My behavior is weird enough."

The chef agreed with a dramatic huff. Ace ate in confusion, trying to reflect on the voices in his head. He had a teacher some time in his life? When? Did he learn and then forget somehow, and that was why he was shit at mapping with his crew? And losing his memory brought back things he'd forgotten? He sighed, and ate continued to eat his meal.

After that, he put his dishes in their designated stacks before leaving the galley, heading to the navigation room, wanting to look at other sea charts, see if his was any good or if it was just crappy squiggles. And it wasn't like an island where he could know where this map was from. He could have just made it up in his head. Nobody would know. He didn't even know _how_ to make sea charts.

He pulled out his chart and pulled out the binder with other charts in it, situated next to the catalogue of maps of islands. He compared the recorded charts to his own, and it looked like it was done by someone who knew what they were doing.

Then, a thought popped into his head, and he hurried to the place holding smaller ships deep into the inside of the Moby Dick. It was where striker was, his personal sea vehicle. He hadn't used it, not remembering how and worrying about breaking it. Plus, he had no need for it.

He stared at it and then his sea chart. There was a way for him to make them. He had the knowledge of how some time in his life, and could have used striker to help him out. It would have taken less time than it would for someone in a rowboat or something.

Finally, he accepted that this might just be another hidden talent, and left the storage room to put the sea chart in his cubby. But, he found Raya in there, one of the mappers who didn't seem fond of Ace. "Make another map in your sleep?" he asked without looking up from his work.

"Yeah," Ace lied. "I didn't finish it, though."

"Hmm," was his answer. Ace didn't say anything more and put the chart away. He really wondered where it was taken from. It didn't look especially complicated, but was pretty simple. He didn't roll it, just folded it up and put it as far into his cubby as he could.

He had looked forward to mapping, before he found out he did it in his sleep. He wished he could remember how he learned. He didn't get his hopes up that anything really useful about his strange talents would pop into his head, more than some dialogue from a misty voice he didn't recognize at all.

Ace left the room and headed up the crowsnest. He was glad Thatch found him and took the chart. He didn't want more attention on him for things like that. He didn't want anyone knowing about the chart yet. If it had been found by someone else, things would have been messier. Ace hadn't finished the chart so he hadn't signed it.

Someone else could have taken credit. That would have pissed him off, but he would rather nobody find it. He looked out at the horizon, the endless blue sky meeting the blue sea. He slumped backwards and sighed, crossing his arms like he was cold.

He was leaning backwards on the part of his back that hadn't been tattooed over, so it didn't hurt at all. He was alone for a bit before Marco climbed up and over the side. "Can I sit with you?" Ace nodded. "Are you okay?" he asked, settling across from Ace on the other side of the circular bench. Ace was sitting on the floor against it. He sighed, but answered honestly.

"Thatch found me sleep walking in the navigation room last night," he said. Marco asked if he was making another map. "No, I was making a sea chart. Which I don't remember learning either," the youngest grumbled.

Marco looked surprised. "You don't remember learning at all?" he asked slowly, tentatively, trying not to upset Ace, which he was grateful for. That Marco was understanding and patient. Ace looked at him, and decided to tell him some truth.

"I hear the voice of someone in my head, teaching me. There's never too much, but based on what they say, I think that this voice taught me. I just don't know who it is or when it happened," he said honestly.

Marco put his hand to his chin in thought, silent for a moment. "So, it's like a repressed memory?" Ace shrugged. "Do you have any other memories like that? Things you don't remember learning?" Ace almost laughed, since that was all that had been happening since he woke up those weeks ago.

It felt like he'd been there so long, even from the start. When he'd woken up the first time, he still felt like he'd been there for years. Thank god Thatch had been there for him from the start. He was an angel.

He didn't laugh, though. "My division is teaching me about navigating, and weather. I already know all of it. I didn't before, but it all just came back to me. I still pretend like they're teaching me, and I don't know the stuff already. I don't want people to think I'm even weirder," he confessed, words quiet at the end, averting his eyes from Marco.

"Does it feel like you have someone else's memories?" the first mate asked curiously.

Ace shook his head. "Part of me knows that they are my memories. I just don't know when they came from, or the context around the skills. Who taught me, where and when did it take place? Why did I forget?" Ace wondered.

Marco walked over and sat next to him. "Hopefully those memories will come back, if they don't, you might just try to appreciate that you learned these useful things, even if you don't know the origin, or who was the one to teach you."

"I think I know how I made the sea chart, if I've done them before. If it was anytime while I was on the Piece of Spadile, then I could have used striker to move about the water more easily," Ace said.

"Your single passenger ship?" Ace nodded. Ace said Deuce had made it for him, or at least that's what he had been told by his crew. "Would you want to try making another one?" Marco questioned. Ace shrugged.

He sighed and said, "I don't want to try and then suck. What if I'm only good at it when I'm half-dead? That would be humiliating. I looked forward to making my own maps so much before, but now I just don't want to disappoint anybody. I don't want anyone to look down on me." He was embarrassed, saying these things. He knew he was insecure from the start of his life, for as long as he could remember, but he never showed it to anyone but Sabo.

And maybe Deuce, he didn't know how he was like on the PoS much. Deuce just seemed to know how he felt most times, and he _did_ know about Ace's relation to Roger, so he wasn't surprised if he opened up to his friend more than the others. And to Thatch.

"You can always make your maps in private, Ace. The navigation room is helpful, but you could make them somewhere else." Ace looked around, saying his storage room wasn't good for it. He knew it would be hard now, to be with other people in the room when he got up and walked around. More than once he'd woken up sleeping against his bedroom door. "You could use the empty second division commander's office. Nobody goes in there, and it would be very secluded."

Ace looked a bit confused. "Why? Would you do that for others?"

"Of course. Just, nobody has needed to use it before. Besides, I trust everyone to not snoop in the commanders' offices. I give you permission to use the room when you need. You can put extra supplies in one of the moving bags with pens, paper and the other tools needed for charting and map making," Marco explained with a kind smile.

Ace smiled back. "You guys are really nice. Except Aioba. Screw him," he said. Marco laughed.

He replied, "He's always had an issue with pride. Maybe don't show him your sea charts. His panties would get in a twist again. And about your division teaching you what you already know, you can tell them you'd like to learn on your own. That you feel comfortable more going at your own pace. I'm sure they'd be understanding." Ace nodded, thinking that. He didn't like faking being crappy at it.

Later that day, Ace smuggled some ink, spare pens, measuring tools and paper into the empty office. And that night, he was found sleeping inside with another unfinished sea chart again. Though this time it was the same one as the night before, and he didn't finish this one either.

Marco had found him there in the morning. "Ace, wake up," he said, gently shaking Ace awake. He opened his eyes blearily. Marco could tell he was still exhausted, and took pity on him. "Why don't we bring you back to your room to sleep some more?" he offered.

Ace mumbled an "'M tired," and Marco helped him up and walked back to his room. Like Thatch had, Marco tucked Ace in. He was shirtless with his bandages falling off, so Marco fixed them for him and laid him on his stomach.

When Ace woke up, he didn't remember sleepwalking or Marco helping him out. He changed into new clothes (still just shorts and boots). His shirts were no longer in use since they pulled on the bandages and it was annoying. He sat at his division table when he was eating breakfast, saying nothing but listening to conversations until one of his self proclaimed teachers spoke to him.

"When did you want to continue the lessons?" he asked brightly, and Ace felt bad disappointing him.

He said, not making eye contact, "I kinda wanted to stop them. I feel like going at a slower pace by myself would work better. I've already learned so many of the basics from you that I want to start challenging myself and working on my own." He had a light smile at the man, who nodded, not seeming upset at all.

"I totally get it. I'll lend you our navigation books if you'd like. There are some in the library that aren't in use but are still pretty helpful," he offered. Ace smiled and thanked him for his kindness. "Of course! You're our little brother, of course we'd be helpful and nice." He shot a look at Aioba near the other end of the table, who was talking to his own friends. "Well, most of us."

Ace nodded, and after he finished breakfast, went to the library just for show, and took out a book to read on deck even as he looked at the weather and sea himself. Nothing odd was happening, but that wouldn't last in the New World. He pretended to read the book when Marco came over to check on him.

"I'm okay, why?" Ace asked, looking away from the page he'd been staring at. Marco told him about finding him in the office earlier and taking him to bed. "Oh. I… don't know how I'd do sleeping in a room with other people. If I get up and walk around, it might be hard for others to sleep."

Marco nodded. "We were thinking about that. Would you like to stay in your room if we make it more like a bedroom and less than a storage room? We'll give you a real bed and some more furniture." Ace asked if that was playing favorites. "Maybe, I don't know. But it's taking into consideration the others and yourself. The bunk rooms don't have locked doors, so you'd be opening and closing the door while sleep walking."

Ace nodded, knowing others would get fed up with that. He was happy he'd get his own room and not be a bother to anybody else. "Thanks. For taking my narcolepsy into consideration." Marco said of course, and Ace smiled. These people were great.

-x-

Ace stood in the hallway, glaring furiously as paint dripped down his face from the door he'd just walked through. He never thought _he_ would be a victim of a prank, but he guessed it was random when set up like this. Ace wiped the paint out of his face and sighed before heading to the bathhouse to shower off as much as he could.

He walked past Thatch and Haruta, who were running to see who had been the victim. Ace glared at them furiously, flaming up, and they both ran, shouting apologies. He sighed and kept walking towards the bathroom, and passed many who gave him sympathetic looks. When he reached the bathhouse, he went to one of the showers and peeled off his clothes, shorts soaked with blue paint, and washed off, holding the shorts under the water as well.

Blue ran into the drain on the tile floor beneath him. He leaned up and got it off of his face, even though he knew there would be some stuck in his ears. After he deemed himself paint-free enough, he put his underwear on and then a towel around his waist as he soaked his shorts in the sink he filled with water, squeezing it and then dunking them once again.

He kept the towel around his waist, wrapped low enough to show he was not naked underneath, was wearing underwear, and took the soaking shorts to the laundry room to hang dry before he'd put it in his basket at his room.

Thatch was waiting by his door, and Ace glared at him. The chef had huge, watery puppy dog eyes. "I'm soorrrry Ace, I didn't know it would be you," he whined. Ace huffed, saying, "whatever". Thatch looked hurt, but Ace was annoyed. He wasn't in the mood to have paint dumped on him.

Ace entered his room and changed, closing the door on Thatch. When he walked back out, Thatch was gone. Ace went back to where he was heading before. Hopefully Izo wasn't mad that Ace had kept him waiting.

He entered the room where tattoos were inked and said, "I'm sorry, Izo. I fell victim to a paint-trap and had to wash off. Sorry for keeping you waiting," Ace explained, sitting on the chair. Izo had been glaring at him when he entered, but that expression turned sympathetic and pitying.

"Even being best friends with Thatch doesn't make you safe, it seems," he said, and took the single cuff to put on Ace's wrist, draining his energy and making his body solid.

"I guess so," Ace said, leaning forward on his chest while Izo began filling in the upper part of his tattoo. He fell asleep during it, thinking he hadn't slept well, though he couldn't remember waking up or having any bad dreams. Izo asked him if he was alright once he woke up. "I'm just really tired."

He frowned, and asked if Ace was sick. "No, some nights are clusters of not sleeping well. I'll probably have trouble sleeping for tonight and tomorrow at least," Ace explained.

"I'm sorry. That sucks. Have you always had narcolepsy?" the crossdresser asked. Ace shook his head, saying it developed when he was sixteen. "Wait, you were on your pirate journey _alone_ with narcolepsy?" he asked in disbelief. Ace laughed and nodded.

"I don't know how I did it, but it's pretty impressive I didn't die, isn't it?" he asked in a joking voice, though the tint of exhaustion was there. Izo agreed, and took the cuff off of his wrist and replaced the bandages over his swollen tattoo. It was sore already. He wished he could get it done all at once just to get it over with.

When he went back to his room, knowing he shouldn't take one but knowing he needed a nap, he found a cake box in front of his door. He picked it up and opened it to see a fancy cupcake. "I'm sorry you got pranked" it said in decorative cursive frosting. Ace rolled his eyes at the apology, but wasn't very angry at Thatch and Haruta anymore. They refrained from pranking him in other ways mostly.

He went inside and closed the cake box, putting it on his nightstand and falling asleep on his stomach. He hoped he wasn't needed for any manual labor that day. The crates in his room had been replaced with dressers and a rug. It felt much more homey, and the better mattress was awesome.

He'd been on the crew for a little over a month now, and that just didn't feel right. He still felt out of place in some ways. The sudden things that popped up in his head. He told Thatch, but no longer Deuce. He closed up on Deuce without noticing.

After all, Deuce had been close with Ace. The old Ace, and he didn't want to ruin that time Deuce had with him by being this new Ace. It was a sad feeling, feeling someone would be better off without you. His old crew hadn't said anything about him acting differently, but sometimes Ace would say something and it would make them confused, even if they hid the expression as soon as they could.

Thatch didn't know the old Ace, so he didn't expect something Ace wasn't anymore. Over all, the last couple of days had been shitty. He was glad he wasn't too important and could slip into the crowd for a bit if he needed to.

He woke up to a knock on his door. He yawned and stood up, opening the door to see Deuce. He didn't want to talk to him, but couldn't bring himself to be rude or ask him to come later. "Can I talk to you?" Ace nodded and opened his door wider. He closed it behind them when Deuce sat on the bed.

Ace sat next to him, and the blue haired man didn't hesitate to talk. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, in a voice Ace hadn't heard yet. A sad, and almost scared voice. "You've closed up on me," he said.

Ace looked down and away. "You didn't do anything wrong." Then he asked why he had closed up on his old friend. Old first mate and best friend. "I don't want to ruin your image of the old me," he said honestly. Deuce put his hand on Ace's shoulder.

"You're still my friend, no matter if you had some aspects of your personality change. Even if you were a completely different person, it wouldn't ruin the last two years we had," he said with a small smile. It just made Ace wince. He didn't have those years, Deuce did. Ace didn't remember a single thing about the previous two years. "Even if you forgot, we're still friends. At least, I want to be. You're not a disappointment, you're Ace," he insisted in a strong voice. "And I don't blame you for your memory loss."

The former captain looked at Deuce, tears in his eyes. "I just feel so terrible for forgetting everyone and all of the memories we had. Reading log books won't capture the feelings we must have had together. The fun," he said quietly. "I just wish things would be normal."

Deuce cautiously pulled Ace into a hug. "There's nothing we can do about it but hope that they'll come back some day. We can't dwell on that unfortunate aspect. I still want to be your good friend, and still think of you as mine."

Ace sniffled and nodded. "I'll try not to close off. Just… please don't expect too much from me, or at least not how I used to be," he said.

"I promise I won't. Go at your own pace, we have plenty of time to become close like we were. Like we can be," Deuce said with a bright smile. Ace smiled and nodded before handing Deuce the cupcake box.

"You can have this, as an apology for shutting you out," he said. "A walked under a can of paint that Thatch and Haruta planted. I'm not hungry, so this is my apology cupcake to you," Ace explained, and Deuce nodded, eating the small cupcake in one bite.


	9. An Outing With Friends

**chalmao: Yeah, poor baby.**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: <3**

* * *

Ace stood at the peak of the mountain on the Whitebeard island they were currently on, measuring tools in a bag next to him. He had spent the last five hours surveying the island and making notes. He was tired and hungry, and had finally reached the highest point. No one asked for it, but he was going to try and make a map while he was awake, not half-asleep.

He sighed and put the backpack on, getting ready to trek back down the mountain. It wasn't a huge mountain, but it took awhile to get up. Wouldn't take as long getting back down. He walked along the treaded path, making Ace sure this was a popular walking route, and hummed to himself before someone called his name. "Oi, brat!" the man called, and Ace froze. He recognized that voice, even though he knew he'd not been on this island before. His eyes widened and he turned around to see someone he didn't recognize, but felt he knew.

"Yes?"

"Are you a cartographer?" he asked. Ace nodded, and then furrowed his brows, trying to figure out why he seemed so damn familiar. "Man, you're pretty young! How old are you?" Ace answered honestly, that he was 19. "Where did you learn?" _You._ Ace was shocked, but of course did not say the answer that popped into his head.

"I don't remember. I have amnesia," he said truthfully. The guy looked shocked before laughing. Ace kept a straight face, and the man apologized, having thought Ace was joking. The man asked what Ace's name was, so he told him.

"My name is Zeke. I teach cartography and sea charting," he said. "You live here? Haven't seen you around before." Suddenly Ace remembered clear memories that _weren't his_ of being with this man, Zeke. Memories of eating overcooked rice with him, being forced to make errands down the mountain for him, cleaning his house. And despite all of these being a bit rude, all of them had a twinge of fondness coming with them.

He remembered getting in a ton of arguments with him about things, but then spending hours and hours of being taught mapmaking and how to construct sea charts. Ace was right, he had used striker to chart.

"Oh, I'm a Whitebeard pirate. We're visiting the island right now and I wanted to try and make a map of it," Ace said, voice surprisingly strong considering how damn confused he was. And slightly scared. All of these memories he saw that he _didn't_ go through.

"Oh, you're a Whitebeard! Bah, they suck at mapping. If I taught one of them, I'm sure they'd be much better!" Zeke declared. He was clearly a bit eccentric and full of himself, but despite that, Ace had a fondness for the guy. Ace didn't agree that his crew were crappy cartographers, but didn't disagree.

If he taught a Whitebeard. Ace was a Whitebeard, and this guy had taught him at some point in his life. That he didn't remember. "Have we met before?" Ace finally asked, staring at him intently, waiting for an answer and hoping it would be a yes.

"Nope. Never seen yer face before," he said, and Ace's expression fell. More that didn't make sense. Neither of them remembered meeting, yet Ace had memoires of himself spending months with him. He didn't remember why he was allowed to be there so long, as he was somehow on the crew at that point. Maybe they took a long break? He didn't remember that part, that part was fuzzy.

"Oh, okay," Ace said, and then looked away, not wanting to seem weird. "Well, it was nice meeting you," he said hurriedly. "I gotta get back before dinner." Zeke frowned, but said he hoped Ace was good at his job, as the yonko crew needed good mapmakers. Ace just smiled and thanked him.

He walked back down the mountain with his hands shaking, mouth in a deep frown. He took a break halfway down to lean against a tree and breathe heavily, trying to calm down. It didn't make sense. And it wasn't like it was deja vu, he knew that man without ever meeting him. He had memories of him that he shouldn't have.

And even if he had imagined all of it, he had never seen him before, so knowing what he looked like wouldn't have been possible. Was any of this possible. He sat down on the grass, hunched over and head between his knees.

He heard crunching in front of him and lit on fire, not knowing who it was or what they wanted. But it was Marco, looking concerned. He put his hands up and Ace sighed, dousing his flames immediately. "Are you okay?" Marco asked in concern. Ace nodded, though he really wasn't. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Ace shook his head. "I'm fine, really. It's nothing," he insisted. He stood, putting his hands in his pockets. "Did you need something?" he asked, trying to put on a fake smile, even though he was still internally freaking out.

Marco clearly wasn't convinced, but didn't press, probably seeing Ace had closed off and wasn't going to say what was bothering him. He couldn't tell anybody. Not even Thatch. What if he was some… some alien? Thing? What if he was manufactured by the government and given fake memories? What if he was planted here to spy on the Whitebeards?

He needed a drink.

"We're moving the ship to the other side, and I wanted to tell you before you walk back to the other dock," Marco said slowly, clearly still looking for what was wrong with Ace. Those silly thoughts about not being a real human had passed, but now he felt crazier.

What if Thatch was right, and he had seen the future? If all of those things he noticed were from him coming from the future? He didn't remember time traveling, and didn't even know if there was a devil fruit that could do that. What if he was sent back in the past? And how far back? When he had come from, if he did somehow come from the future?

Was that why he had skills he never learned? Cause he hadn't learned them _yet?_ Like, he had already learned them before, or in a different life, or - or _something!_

"Okay," Ace said, and Marco offered to fly him there. "No! No, I'm not flying again." Marco chuckled, saying he'd forgotten about Ace's fear of flying. He asked how Ace's expedition had gone. "I measured as much as I could to try and make a map. Ran into a couple bears but they left me alone after flaming up. Animals are smarter than humans," Ace explained, doing his best to keep his voice steady.

Marco asked if Ace wanted to use the second division commander's office to work on his map. "Yeah, it would be easiest. Thank you, again," Ace replied honestly. His heartbeat was slowing, going back to a steady and normal pace. He and Marco walked all the way back to the ship, down the mountain and through the town Ace had visited secondly.

"Of course, you're my little brother," Marco said in a cheery voice. Ace smiled at him, feeling more calm as they got closer to the ship. When they arrived, there was a party happening. Well, getting started. Booze was set in their places and the shishkabob supplies out while Thatch and Namur wheeled out the grills. Ace looked at the alcohol warily. He needed a drink, but no way would he get drunk around others. Not after what just happened, what he felt he'd learned.

If he let something slip, they'd all think he was crazy, and he didn't need that now. Not with everything else. He wouldn't get drunk tonight, he swore. He put the stuff away in their places, taking the measurements and information to the office he was temporarily using with Marco's permission. When he got there, he found a note on the door.

_I give Ace permission to use this room for mapping - Marco_

So, no one could get angry with him being there. That was nice. He set things up to go to later, since there was no way he could sleep easy tonight, and then went back out on deck. He put together the food he wanted on his skewers and sat with Deuce, not Thatch. The pompadoured man would pester him about why he wasn't getting drunk and being a "giggle-buddy".

Deuce noticed something was wrong, and gave him a questioning look, saying nothing. "'M fine," Ace said quietly, getting to eat his food. It tasted like ash, even though it smelled delicious. He couldn't even distract himself from his thoughts and possible revelation with food.

Finamore asked him why he wasn't drinking anything, since he was the only one in the group with water and not some sort of alcohol. "I just don't feel like getting drunk tonight," he replied. _I want to, I just don't trust myself to not blab or fall apart._

It was a long party without being drunk. He was bored, and had a headache. He just wanted to sleep. After three hours of everyone heavily drinking, Ace excused himself and put his food utensils back where they should be before heading to the infirmary. Whiskey wasn't there, as she was drinking, too, but Tami was there.

"Ace," she said in surprise.

"Hey. Can I have some sleeping medicine?" he asked, getting straight to the point. She didn't ask any questions, and got him one of the many types of sleeping medication they had. These were melatonin tablets. "Thank you."

"Sleep well," Tami said, going back into her office. Ace took the pills dry and then went to his room, locking the door and collapsing on the bed, waiting impatiently to fall asleep, trying his best to not think. Not to think too hard and freak out again. There may not be any bedrooms ear this one, but it did have storage rooms, and some of those held the grills. If he fell apart of had some sort of panic attack like he did earlier, he'd be heard most likely. And then he'd be pestered even more.

He didn't end up going to make the map that night, just knocking himself out safely. Drinking would not have been safe this time, so meds was the only thing that would easily put him under, and not leave him with his eyes wide open and thoughts racing through his mind until breakfast.

The next day, he was confused with conspiracy theories about himself. He thought about every ridiculous hypothetical situation than he imagined possible. It was ridiculous, and he wished it would just stop. He couldn't even make a map since his hands were shaking almost all day. Luckily, not noticeable enough for anyone to tell.

So, since he couldn't really do anything helpful as he couldn't focus on anything but himself, he went onto the island again, just going to get some coffee. He hated coffee, but maybe the taste would be on his mind and not his suspicions.

Throughout the day, he dodged concerned family and friends. Four in particular looked at him in deep concern. Thatch, Deuce, Marco and Pops. And he got as far from them as he could at every turn. Going the long way through the halls or just walking straight the other direction. He didn't want to be asked questions, as he didn't like lying much.

But finally, he was cornered in his room by Thatch, who looked very upset. "Talk to me, Ace. Please, I'm worried," he said once he closed and locked the bedroom door behind him entering. Ace sat on his bed, looking away. He said there was nothing to talk about. "C'mon, I'm dumb but I'm not an idiot. Something is wrong and you won't tell anyone! Please, you know you can trust me with everything right? Since the beginning?" Thatch said, sounding encouraging while also a bit desperate.

Ace looked at him, not sure what to do. "Please. I promise I won't tell anybody. I never do, right?" Ace finally looked down and nodded. Thatch's face lit up and he turned to face Ace more directly. Ace pulled his legs up on the bed and brought them to his chest.

"I met the guy I've been hearing in my head. The one who I think taught me how to make maps and charts. I had all these memories of my time with him that never happened. He said he'd never met me before, but I knew him well. He even said he would have wanted to teach one of the Whitebeards. I think it was me that he taught. When I was part of this ship, which never happened," Ace explained quietly.

Thatch's mouth was open a little bit in shock. "Do you have a hypothesis?"

Ace chuckled, though it wasn't amusement. "If you mean conspiracy theories, I got dozens," he said in a humorless voice. Thatch put a hand on his friend's shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Ace looked up, and said, "What if… what if you were right, and I am from the future? And that's why I'm remembering things that haven't happened, and knew so much stuff from the start?" His eyes were wide and fearful.

"I think that would make sense, though I have no idea how you would have time traveled. And why you forgot those two years. We know they happened based on your former crew. I won't tell a soul, I promise," Thatch swore, looking straight into Ace's eyes. Ace smiled and shanky smile and nodded. "Do you remember anything further into the future? Or an alternate reality?"

Ace shook his head. "Things only seem to pop up before they happen. Anything serious that will happen or has happened, I don't know until days or hours before. I don't remember anything about my future far away, if that is what's happened. I'm so confused, and scared."

Thatch pat his head softly. "There's nothing to be scared of. We're with you until our ends," he vowed. Ace had some tears down his cheeks, and Thatch pulled him into a hug. "It'll work out. And maybe this will be super useful! You don't know, maybe good things could come from this. And it's nice you have skills you don't need to take the time to learn again!"

Ace sniffled and nodded, wiping under his nose and his eyes. Thatch stayed with him a bit until Ace noticed his hands weren't shaking anymore, and he wanted to try working on his map. Thatch said he'd make Ace's favorite meal for him, which was sea king pasta. They'd need to catch a sea king, but putting out bait and killing them was easy, then cutting out the best chunks from it and bringing them to the ship to cook.

He thanked his best friend/brother and went to his current safe space. Haruta said hello to him, in his own office and looking pissy from doing his own work. Ace said hello back and then went into the vacant commander's office, closing the wooden doors behind him to get to work on his map.

Clearing his mind, he worked almost automatically, making smooth lines, the mapping pens used perfectly. He zoned out as he did it, but it was relaxing, seeing the lines form shapes that matched his memory and measurements. More memories of his time with Master Zeke popped up, giving him suggestions that Ace didn't even notice incorporating.

A couple hours later, the map was finished, and looked good to him. He rolled it up once the ink dried, and brought it back to the navigation room to compare it to maps already made and found accurate enough to use.

Sometimes Ace wondered why there weren't windows for the other walls so they had a view of all directions. But he never asked, not wanting to be a bother. He walked to the folder with the most accurate maps and brought out the island they were docked at. He looked at his own and then the other, and smiled. They looked nearly identical.

He sighed and held the map to his chest, so happy he wasn't useless during the day with map making. He walked to the window, and looked at the mountain where he now knew Master Zeke lived. He wished he could thank the man, but it wouldn't work. I'd never met him in this time. Ace had started to think of himself being in some other timeline.

The teen put his map in his cubby, which was getting pretty full. Maybe he could have a second one. Even with some of his maps being in folders or binders, there were still many in the cubby. Many of the other cubbies were empty, not everyone able to make accurate maps.

When dinner came around, Ace sat by Thatch at the commanders' table when he invited him over. He was being very kind and understanding today after hearing about Ace's inner turmoil. He was a good person from the core. Ace couldn't help compare his pure soul to Luffy's. They were both angels, though Luffy was much more of a hassle. At least, to him that is.

The pasta dish was wonderful, and Ace ate so much he felt sick afterwards. Thatch asked him how his map went. "It looks pretty accurate. I'm not just good while I'm asleep," Ace said with a smile.

"That's great, son," Pops said sincerely, and Ace smiled a little shyly. "How was your expedition today? You spent a long time going around the island." Ace liked talking with Pops at dinner, even if he didn't usually sit with the commanders. _Second division commander._

"A bit tiring. And a bit boring, though the weather was nice, luckily," Ace replied. He left out Master Zeke completely. He didn't want to talk about him and give away any strange expressions. He knew Marco and Pops were great at reading expressions, and they'd notice him making any weird ones, any stressed or confused ones.

Whitebeard said, "I don't think I could have the patience to spend hours measuring land." Haruta pointed out that he was patient with them. "Yes, but you are my sons, and even if you are annoying, I still love you all."

Thatch looked proud and said, "I'm the most annoying." Ace laughed, working to not spray juice everywhere. Whitebeard laughed as well and the rest of the table agreed with that. Vista asked why on earth he was proud of that. "Cause I'm the best at it. It's nice being the best at something!"

The commanders shook their heads and returned to other conversations. Ace sat quietly, happy to be there with them. It was nice being able to sit with more than one group. Having an array of people to sit by. He was glad the former Spades stuck together, so Ace not sitting with them all the time didn't make them sad and lonely. He didn't know if he'd tell Deuce about his new theory, about time traveling somehow.

He did wonder what caused him to go back, and how far ahead it had been. He didn't like to think he'd died and was sent back, because he didn't remember any pain or suffering, and surely he'd remember at least something if that had happened. How far back had he gone? He wanted to know why this happened.

And had he done it on purpose, or had it just happened without him knowing? He had so many questions, but didn't think he'd be getting any answers anytime soon. It would bother him, making him itchy with wanting to know the truth, but he'd do his best to not get upset over not having the information he wanted more than anything.

He wanted to know why he was here now more than knowing why he'd forgotten the last two years of his life. After dinner, Ace was on watch duty, and was distracted. Even though they were at an island, they still took watch as a precaution. Even if it was a protected island, there are still idiots in places.

It would be suicide to attack the ship, but some people didn't have common sense or a sense of preservation. It was a sad fact that there were some people out there with brains that didn't seem to function right and caused others trouble.

He switched halfway through the night and went back to his room to sleep. If anyone was on watch, they got to sleep in a bit the morning after. Deuce came to get him in the morning, knocking on the door that wasn't locked, but Ace didn't think he sleep walked the night before. He yawned, putting shorts on and opened the door to his friend and former first mate.

The man smiled and asked if he could talk to him. Ace nodded and let him in, both walking to Ace's bed. "What's up?" Ace asked. He hoped it was nothing serious.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come onto the island with me and the guys? To spend some time together not on the ship surrounded by other people," Deuce said with a smile. Ace held in a sigh in relief that it had nothing to do with Ace's possibly changed behavior after getting more "symptoms" of something being wrong and just plain weird.

"Sure. Where were you thinking?" Ace wondered, voice light and a small smile on. It felt good that they wanted to see him like this when he didn't know them well. Well, this could be a way to spend more time with them and hopefully get to know them better than he did now.

Deuce grinned and said, "Just going shopping around town. None of us have used our allotted money yet." Ace hadn't either, and thought it was a good idea. Well, he had gotten coffee, but that didn't cost anything, really. Ace agreed to that, and both of them left the room, Deuce waiting a few seconds for Ace to put his boots on.

They headed to breakfast, Deuce asking how watch duty had gone last night. Nothing interesting had happened, not that anyone was surprised with that. Ace sat with Deuce and the other Spades for breakfast, all talking about their day on the island. Ace was glad he did the mapmaking the day before or he'd be distracted all day.

Thatch was pouting behind them, and after breakfast asked what Ace was doing that day. "I'm going on the island with my former crew. We're gonna take our money and buy some stuff, don't know what yet," Ace explained. Saber called him over, and Ace said he'd see Thatch later before hurrying to the group he'd be spending the day with.

They stopped at the treasure room and took their small sacks of money that were set out for pirates to grab quickly. Nobody stole any more than they were allotted, which was cool in Ace's opinion. That they were all trustworthy.

Ace said hello to Teach when they passed, and he said hello back. The guy was nice, despite his appearance. When Ace was going down the ramp, he looked to the side to see Aioba glaring at him. Finamore sighed. "That guy is fucking annoying," he said.

"Yeah. I don't know what his problem is with me. You'd think he'd move on by now. I've been here over six weeks!" Ace replied irritably.

Ducky Bree just said that he was jealous. And jealous people weren't always rational. "At least he hasn't messed up any of your maps again." Deuce said it was probably because he knew he'd get caught if he did it again, and get suspended once again. Ace nodded, agreeing with that. He still glared at Ace like he was the worst person in the world.

The youngest had long since given up on ever being on friendly terms with him. He just did his best to ignore or avoid him. Making maps with him in the room would be awful, so having his own space was nice. No one had commented on it, so maybe they didn't know or a commander had told them to say nothing regarding it. _Second division commander office. It's mine._

Ace's eyes widened, as he had finally gotten some fucking _context_ about the second division! But… why on earth would he be given that room? Well, for now it was used by him, but it wasn't his to keep. And he just couldn't see himself being chosen for that spot. He was awkward and insecure. He could never be a leader. At least, not this version of him and not yet.

He was a captain, though, one upon a time (not long ago). Perhaps, like mapmaking, that part of him would come back. Or, if he was a leader in the future - if that theory was correct - then he might get that knowledge back. It might return to him. Well, he'd wait and see what would happen. There was no point in thinking about that right now.

And he'd say nothing about it. Being a newby and saying he'd be the second division commander might be inappropriate and irritate others, or make them think he was full of himself. He wouldn't tell Thatch, either. Nobody. It wasn't happening anytime soon, he knew that, so there was no point in telling anybody.

"...Ce? Ace?" Deuce asked, and Ace realized they'd been talking to him.

"Sorry, sorry. I got distracted," Ace said, feeling embarrassed.

"It's fine. I asked if you wanted to spend your money on food?" the blue haired man asked. Ace looked at him as if wondering how he knew. "Well, memory loss or not, some things never change," he said with a grin. Ace smiled back, and said he'd love to get some food. "What should we go for?" he asked the whole group.

"We already have perfect food from Thatch for most things, so why don't we try something he _doesn't_ cook?" Mihar asked.

Ace said, "I don't know what we'd find that he can't cook. Well, maybe some specialties on this island." The others agreed that that was the best course of action. They headed to the nearest restaurant, looking at the menu, but everything there had been cooked by Thatch at some point or another.

It irritated the server when she came to ask if they were ready for drinks and Ace said, "Nah, we don't want to eat here." She glared at him, and they laughed about it once going outside. Ace was shirtless, showing off his Whitebeard mark, and noticed after a while that his brothers had been right. He was attracting attention from women.

His former crew were laughing about it, Ace's face a bit red. He could hear giggles from women, calling him so attractive. He put his hat in front of his face and his friends were laughing harder. "Shut it," he grumbled.

"You're not captain anymore, you can't give orders to us," Aggie said in amusement. Ace scoffed and shoved his arm. Ace liked showing off the tattoo, but this _was_ a bit embarrassing. Maybe if he made an angry look, they'd stop. So, he let off a dark glare. "You don't need to get so angry, I was joking."

"I'm trying to get them to stop talking about me by looking like an asshole," Ace said, and a new round of laughter was made. He couldn't help but laugh with them. They did find a restaurant that served island specialties, and they ordered everything that they'd never tried, spending all of their money together.

The food was amazing, and by the end, they were all stuffed. Saber asked the waitress if she could give them the recipe for their food. She looked hesitant, and Ace said, "We'd really appreciate it," with a bright smile. She blushed and nodded, hurrying away. Ace chuckled.

"Manipulative much?"

"Hey, if women are gonna ogle at me, might as well take advantage of it," Ace replied, and they got a list of recipes for everything they'd ordered. The waitress thanked them for their service and hurried away, face still red. Man, Thatch would laugh so hard about this.

It was a nice outing, and they didn't seem like they were comparing this Ace to the previous. Maybe… he wasn't so different than before. He didn't know and didn't ask, but it was a comforting thought, and it made him even happier. They spent most of the day off of the ship before returning for dinner.

When they got back on deck, Stefan came running over, barking and jumping at Ace's leg. He picked up the dog and rubbed its tummy, making it squirm before sprinting off and to Pops' chair. Stefan napped a lot of the day, so Ace didn't get to see him much. He was old, apparently, and usually stayed in Whitebeard's room or the training room where he ran around, tiring himself out before heading back to Pops' room, which was open a crack for the dog to enter and exit.

Ace gave Thatch the little notepad with pages of recipes. "We went to a restaurant with island specialties. They were pretty good," he explained. He was in a great mood after his outing with his friends, who accepted him even if he forgot them. He was getting to know them all over again. And while it wasn't the first time for them, they had no problem talking more about themselves. It made him relieved, which was nice after the day before.

"Oooh! Thank you!" Thatch said excitedly, reading over some of them. "Wow, these sound great! Aw, you're the best, Ace." Ace chuckled and nodded, getting his food and going back to the former Spades to eat with them. Spending the day with them was wonderful, why not sit with them tonight?

After dinner, Ace went to the office he was able to use, and just stood in it for a while. _Mine._

"Not yours," Ace mumbled. "Just using it for now." There was no reply in his head, which he was glad of. He didn't want to be talking to some voice in his head. It was bad enough that it was there in the first place.

He heard someone behind him and looked back to not see anybody. He walked into the doorway and looked down the hall to see a map of red hair turn the corner. Ace huffed, and put his supplies in the corner instead of laying all over the bare desk that he'd dusted off. They hadn't used this room for anything in a long time, so they obviously were waiting for a new commander to come some day. The voice in his head said nothing this time.

Ace left the room and headed to the library to just relax on the couch, looking at the huge wall of books. Sabo would love this room. He'd never leave it. Ace smiled at the thought of sailing with him. It didn't hurt anymore, to think of Sabo. He missed his first best friend and brother, but could smile at his memories. It wasn't painful anymore, and he was glad of that.

Sabo could have probably helped him through this, but there was no use dwelling on that thought, so he moved on. But, he passed out from a sleep attack. It was so lucky they didn't happen in important moments.

When he woke up, someone had brought him to his room, as it was pretty late now. He'd slept awhile, his shoes were off and he was under the covers. He smiled, thinking of someone being nice and taking him to bed. He got up and locked the door before falling asleep.


	10. Back To Square One?

#### Otaku_Girl2176: Deuce is bae.

#### Trying_To_Be_Happy: <3

**IMeshls: Thatch. I think I was supposed to have that in there but missed something, but it was Thatch.**

**ASL_lover: lol thank you.**

#### chalmao & Trying_To_Be_Happy: It's like that in fan art too! Go to pinterest and there are tons of art of Thatch and Ace goofing off and messing with Marco. The whole One Piece fanbase supplied the personalities Oda didn't have to. lol.

* * *

**More Marco involved after this chapter. Hopefully Thatch won't be too upset about it lol.**

* * *

The next morning, he walked in on somebody sounding quite angry, and heard his own name said through the cracked doorway. "It's not fair that he gets to use the office and nobody else can. It's playing favorites, commander Marco. And he's too familiar with you like no one else is allowed to be but the originals and the commanders," Aioba argued.

Ace stood outside the door, frowning. Marco made a sigh. "I let him use the office because making maps in front of others can be stressful for him. And he's close with Thatch and Haruta, calling them by their titles might be strange for all three of them," he explained, sounding irritated but also patient.

"Why can't he just make maps when no one else is in the room?"

"I'm not going to speak about how Ace feels. That is his business and no one else's. If you harass him about this, you'll be suspended longer than you were before. You should respect those in your division, even though I know you won't. Your attitude is bad, Aioba. And I know it's weird to have a newby come and be great at things you seemed to work longer on. Some people just click with things," Marco replied, sounding like he was really growing impatient.

Aioba started to storm out of the room and Ace slipped into the nearest room, quietly opening and closing the door before he was seen. He stood in there for a bit, looking at the floor. Did the commanders play favorites? He had seen them be familiar with many people who weren't commanders.

Maybe those were the ones that had been there longest, but Ace didn't see anyone below them actively trying to hang out with them. He never saw Aioba even approach any commander that was not in charge of his division at the moment, so why was he so pissy about it? Did he just want to make Ace's life harder?

He huffed at it and left the room, heading to the bathhouse to shower after getting a change of clothes from his room. He was irritated while he showered, and wanted to say something without them knowing he was eavesdropping. He was sick of trying to ignore it and letting him be as ass to him.

After he dried himself off by heating his body enough to evaporate the water into steam, he left the bathhouse and went to find the man who hated him for stupid reasons. Ace didn't know what being super jealous felt like, so he didn't understand the motive from the jerk. He found him in the navigation room, and stood in the doorway, glaring at him before he walked up to him.

He glared back at Ace, though his expression had a tiny bit of disgust in it. "I am tired of your bullshit. You may be jealous, but it's not my fault that I'm better than you. I don't actively try to be better than you. I don't even actively try to get you to stop giving me nasty glares for no reason. I am in your division whether you like it or not. I am good at navigation whether you like it or not. Knock of being a fucking asshole and deal with the fact I'm not going anywhere," Ace snapped and turned and left before he could reply.

He ran into Thatch right outside the door, who was looking at him with an open mouth. "I'm not supposed to side in any argument, but high five," he whispered at the end. Ace smiled and gave him a high five. "Good for standing up for yourself, Ace. Don't let anyone walk all over you like that. Speak your mind and say something if somebody is bothering you," Thatch said with a proud smile.

"Did you need something?" Ace asked, though not in an impatient way, smiling at the praise and empowering high he had at the moment.

"Yeah, I wanted you to try out some of my new recipes! I edited them a bit, but I think they're still pretty good. I want to see if they taste right to you," Thatch explained, and he and Ace went to the kitchen where there were many dishes Ace recognized laying across the bar counter. Ace took a bite of all of them, and they were more flavorful than those at the restaurant.

He looked up at Thatch. "Why are you such a good cook? Do you have future skills as well?" Ace asked, a slightly joking tone in his voice. Thatch laughed.

"I was a cook on my home island for a long time. I worked in a castle, so I had to be good or I'd get in trouble. Then I joined the crew and was assigned being the head chef when there weren't many good cooks, even on a large crew. Though it wasn't this big fifteen years ago," he explained.

Ace said, "It's weird, thinking people had lives before being here." Thatch nodded, saying he understood that sentiment. The chef asked how the day before was. "It was awesome! I had so much fun. They're so understanding about my memory loss." He saw Thatch's pout and laughed. "No need to get jealous. I still only mostly share my stuff with you."

"Aww! Such a good little bro!" Thatch said, and Ace just shook his head. "Now, I'm gonna make all of this for dinner. Thanks a lot for the recipe."

Ace grinned. "The waitress couldn't resist my looks." Thatch broke into laughter, and Ace told him about the reactions he'd gotten. Thatch said that was what he got for being muscular and going shirtless. Ace just laughed, saying it was too late now to start wearing shirts again.

-x-

"Hey, Ace? Did you ever meet Shanks? The other yonko?" Haruta asked while playing cards with Ace and some of their brothers. Ace shrugged, saying not that he could remember. But he told them about Luffy meeting him and saving him. "Whoa, that's how he lost his arm?!" Ace nodded. "Damn, I never knew that!"

Marco was there, too, and looked up. "Shanks clearly thinks highly of Luffy. When Pops asked him how he lost his arm, he said he was betting it on the next generation. Not that it seemed to make him any weaker." Ace grinned, proud of his little brother. "Since you can't remember, why don't you ask your crew?" he suggested.

Ace nodded, and found Finamore napping on the whale figurehead. "Hey, Finamore!" he shouted, waking the guy, who walked over, grumbling a bit. "I got a question. Did we ever meet Red Haired Shanks?"

"Yeah. You told him about your ambition, and he liked you," the man said, sitting beside Ace and incorporated into the game since it had just started. Ace coked his head and asked what ambition. His former crewmember and current friend smiled in amusement. "Your ambition was to kill Whitebeard and become the Pirate King."

"Whaaat?!" Haruta shouted. Ace scratched his head, and said he didn't remember that. He must have developed that dream of killing Pops during his two blank years.

Ace said, "Well, I obviously don't want to kill him now, right? No need to worry. Why were you asking?" he asked, wanting to change the subject from his old ambition. He did feel bad for wanting to steal away Luffy's dream. Oh well, even if he still wanted to, he couldn't become the pirate king while on this crew, which he wasn't going to leave anytime soon.

Marco spoke when Haruta exclaimed that he couldn't change the subject. "He's visiting soon. He's drinking buddies with Pops. They're acquaintances and sometimes catch up over sake. He's annoying."

Izo laughed and said it was just because he tried to get Marco to join every time. "You'd think he'd accept you won't be joining him by now. Jeez." The others nodded, and Ace looked forward to meeting him for his first time. He wondered how the yonko would react to his memory loss. He hoped Shanks didn't see Luffy for a while and wouldn't tell him about Ace's situation. He would definitely worry.

"I wonder what he'll think of my memory loss," Ace said as he shuffled the cards again.

Marco replied, "He'll probably be over dramatic and pretend to be hurt, as if it's personal that you forgot about meeting him."

Finamore said, "He was a nice guy. Seemed a bit… odd, but pretty polite." Haruta laughed, said "odd" was a good way to put it.

"He doesn't even act like a yonko! He can't take most things seriously," the smallest commander commented. Vista didn't agree with that completely, but admitted he could be quite immature, but did take much of his position seriously.

"He's the only decent yonko out of the other three. Man, they're scary assholes," Haruta said, and the other Whitebeard's agreed. He asked about the others, and when he heard about Wano, he remembered reading about going there in the log books of the Spades' adventures.

"I went to Wano in the last two years. I don't remember it, but read about it in the log books," Ace said, surprising the others that he'd made it that far into the New World, and was able to get in and out after Kaido had fully taken over the country. "It was sad. Apparently, everyone was starving. There was a girl name Tama, but I don't know much about her other than we were friends." He was sad he couldn't remember, but didn't think about that much.

Izo said, "I was born in Wano. Then I joined the crew after they left. I hated them at first, but things have changed much since then. Marco was so silly back then. Now he's boring," the geisha said in amusement, with Marco glaring at him, saying he wasn't boring, just took life more seriously now. And he pointed out that he'd been 15 back then. So of course he was sillier.

Ace had a nice time talking with them. He didn't have any remembrances or realizations that day, which was a nice break. Aioba didn't bother him, and word about their argument had gotten out. Hmm, Ace wondered who could have spilled that. Thatch denied it.

They were leaving the island soon and would meet up with Shanks in two days. Ace looked forward to meeting the man who Luffy admired, and who had made him wish for his pirate dream. He should be leaving sometime later. Winter in the rest of the world was approaching. It was late fall. Ace still hadn't said anything about his birthday. It hadn't come up and he forgot to mention it.

It was as if Thatch could read his mind when he was baking cakes in the massive oven later that day, Ace sitting at the bar counter and talking to his brother. "When is your birthday, Ace? I don't know why no one has asked that yet! I mean, we have a birthday every day, really. We just celebrate them all every four months. Fall's party will come next week."

"I was born on New Years," Ace replied. He knew it was weird to be born on that day.

Thatch said, "Then your party will be mixed with our New Years party! Huffy Aioba will probably think we're playing favorites again, but it will be easy to celebrate along with our New Years party." Ace said he wished the guy was in a different division. "He'll get over it. He's been jealous before. This time he just doesn't like that you aren't even 20 yet and still so talented, even if your circumstances are a lot different."

"You can say that again," Ace replied.

"Don't get mopey, here's some leftover batter," the cook said and handed Ace the spoon he used to stir the batter. Ace took it and licked all of the chocolate off. It was delicious. He didn't remember ever having cake, but he must have had it on the PoS. He never had cake with Luffy because they didn't exactly have an oven to bake it with. They had dozens of cakes by the end of Thatch's baking session, with Ace sleeping slumped over the counter.

Sadly, the cakes were ruined with a food fight. Thatch was distraught.

-x-

A marine vessel had the courage to attack the Whitebeards before he met with Shanks. Ace never understood how the marines followed them so well without being seen. Were they just barely over the horizon so they couldn't see them? It was strange. But Ace wished they'd take a photo of him and he'd end up in the paper.

After all, to the world, the Spades had suddenly gone missing. Their ship was burned down and they were nowhere to be found. The world probably thought they were dead, and Ace wished to fix that. Firefist Ace was not dead!

So, when the marines boarded the ship, Ace went all out, using his flames enough to burn them but not letting them hurt the ship or the crew, as he could control what his fire burned. There was one large enemy that Ace attacked before anyone else. He swung an axe at Ace, covered in haki so Ace dodged, rocketing himself from the ground with fire, flipping over and bashing the arm of the man down with one foot while the other landed on his head.

He shot back off of the deck and kicked him in the neck, throwing him into the water. Ace was laughing happily, and didn't notice that the Whitebeards had completely stopped. The marines were retreating, but Ace was confused when the deck went silent. "What?" he asked, brows furrowed.

Everyone looked to Marco, who looked completely confused. Nobody answered, and then got back to work fixing up the small amount of damage to the ship. Ace turned back and blew a burst of fire at the marine ship, burning the sails into nothing while they attempted to get dead and live bodies from the water as the Moby Dick sailed away.

After that, Marco walked up to Ace and asked to talk to him in private. Thatch was watching nervously, and Ace was worried. What had he done wrong? Was he in trouble? Was Marco suspicious about something he'd done? All he'd done was fight off a strong marine and look awesome while doing it!

Marco brought him to the meeting room, which worried Ace. They sat down, and Marco got straight to the point. "Where did you learn to fight, Ace?" he asked, face confused. Ace didn't understand.

"With my brother. We trained a lot on our island. I mean, I probably got better in the two years, I don't know. Why?" Ace asked, worry in his voice.

Marco looked at him as if searching for a lie. Ace was frowning deeply. "Am I in trouble?" he asked quietly, freaking out internally.

"No, I'm just confused. The moves you used were exactly the ones _I_ use on larger opponents. And I know I haven't taught you them since you joined. How did you know them?" Marco asked, not sounding angry or looking angry. Ace was frozen, not knowing how to answer. But he settled with the truth at the moment.

He looked down, and said, honestly, "I… don't remember. It felt natural fighting like that, but I don't remember learning it. I just knew how to do it." Marco looked at him in worry before he let out a small sigh.

"Ace, does this have anything to do with the secrets you and Thatch keep?" he asked slowly but firmly. Ace jerked up and then looked back down. There was no use lying, but he wouldn't give the full truth.

"Maybe," he replied. "Probably," he corrected. Marco nodded, looking sad.

"You know you can trust me with anything, right? And I wouldn't tell a soul, not even Pops if you didn't want me to," the first mate said sincerely. Ace nodded, saying he knew that and did trust him. "Then will you tell me?"

Ace frowned deeper. "It's just conspiracy theories. It's nothing concrete or provable. Thatch has known from the beginning. I wouldn't have told him if I hadn't been confused and lost my memory," he explained. Marco looked surprised when Ace said they were conspiracy theories.

"I'll still always listen. Maybe I could help you figure out whatever you and Thatch can't," he offered. Ace wasn't sure. He knew he could trust Marco, but he didn't want him to think he was a freak. Thatch was very open minded, he just thought everything Ace told him was interesting, and wanted to solve the puzzle with him.

Ace clasped his hands together on the table, looking so lost and confused, not knowing what to answer. To tell the truth or decline. "I don't want your opinion of me to change. Thatch's didn't, since he knew from the beginning that there was something wrong with me." Marco looked sad when Ace said that there was something wrong with him.

"My opinion of you won't change, Ace. You're my family no matter what. But, I understand if you don't want to tell me, and I won't push. I just hope someday you're comfortable enough to tell me," Marco said sincerely. Ace looked at him with wide eyes and thanked him for his consideration. It would probably be found out eventually, but he didn't want that to happen now.

Thatch really had been a lucky accident. Marco may not be that way. Ace liked to think nothing would change if people found out, but he knew deep inside that things would change, no doubt about it. Deuce, he knew, could keep another secret. He knew that, but he didn't know how Marco would react. He didn't know if he could know something like what was going on with Ace without telling Pops.

"You're my brother, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or upset. Just, know that I'd keep whatever secret or secrets you have, and would gladly help you in any way I can," Marco said with a reassuring smile. Ace thanked him again, and the two stood up and left the room.

It didn't take long to find that some of the crew was not happy with Ace. Especially Marco's division. They glared at him, arms crossed in a disapproving way. Ace headed straight for Thatch. "Did you tell him?" he asked as they were both on the back deck. Ace shook his head. "Is it another thing? The fighting like Marco?"

"Probably. He asked me to tell him, but I didn't and he didn't push. I'm not ready to tell anyone else. Deuce had been an exception, but even now I don't share everything. It was easiest with you. You didn't know me, so you knew something was up from the start and accepted me despite the weird shit," Ace explained, and Thatch put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll always support you, bro." Ace smiled and thanked him. "I think things this time will be a bit more troubling, though. You couldn't hide this one. I have a feeling it will fade, but there will be suspicion for now. Try not to let it get to you."

Ace sighed. "Do you think they'll think I'm a spy?" he asked quietly.

"Hopefully not, but we'll just have to see," Thatch replied honestly. "If anyone asks, say you must have learned from your two years and don't remember." Ace nodded, and said that was the best course of action, and hopefully they'd believe him.

Ace said, "I think I'll go on a ride with striker. To be by myself for a bit." Thatch nodded, and offered to help him get it into the water. Ace had ridden striker expertly after finally braving an expedition. Marco was there to catch him if he fell, but had left once Ace showed he was good enough at it to be safe.

The two carried sitrker through the ship and out onto deck before lowering it down with rope. Ace dropped down on it, and immediately blasted off. Thatch gave him a eternal pose to the ship in case he ended up getting lost somehow, so he had it in his pocket.

When he was out of sight, he sat down, leaning back and looking at the blue sky. "Nice going, Ace. You just couldn't be normal," he sighed. He closed his eyes and then heard a recognizable voice in his head.

_You're useless fighting like that against bigger enemies._

_Shut it, not all of us can fly._

_That's true, but it doesn't mean you can't fight like I can. Just not as good, but your power might be able to help out. Wanna try?_

_Sure, why not. Don't waste my time, though, birdbrain._

_Watch it or I won't show you._

So, he _had_ been taught by Marco. Just not in any of his past. He had thought that was the case since Marco said Ace had used his moves, but now he had "proof". Marco had taught him everything he knew. Or at least, the cool moves he'd done. He didn't even need to ask his crew if that was how he fought, since he'd seen Saber's shocked expression in his peripheral when he was going inside with Marco.

He rubbed his hands down his face and slapped his cheeks before standing up and flying forward again through the waves, feeling absolutely free and the stress melting away for now as he enjoyed the wind in his face and the sound of his fire behind him. It was nice and a welcome reprieve.

-x-

Ace was miserable when he got back. What felt like all of Marco's division hated him, as if he'd hurt their commander. Maybe it was because Marco's skills were now shared with Ace, but he felt that wasn't accurate. Marco was an amazing fighter, Ace had seen it during the fight before he got into it. He'd never be as good as Marco.

Maybe he'd stop using those moves. Or at least try to. He didn't know just how much of his fighting had been influenced by Marco sometime. None of the commanders seemed to hate him, some just asked where he learned his moves, which Ace said he didn't remember. That he just used them without even noticing.

He didn't like this. He'd done so well at hiding the bizarre things he knew and did, and now it was out in the open. At least, one thing was. At least everything else wasn't. The rest of his freakiness was still private. After dinner, he couldn't help but ask Deuce if he fought like that before. The answer was a predictable "no".

The teen had a terrible time sleeping, so he eventually gave up and headed to the library to read. He chose a fairy tale book, which was Thatch's collection. While the other commanders had books relating to their jobs, Thatch had cookbooks and fiction books. Ace was glad they were there.

He wished he could write a book. Then he thought of something. Maybe he should write down everything weird that was happening to him. Maybe he could turn it into a book someday, or when he learned what was wrong with him, where these memories actually came from, he could look back at them and see them in a different way.

He went to the room that held paper and got a long sheet before taking it to his temporary office and sat at the desk, taking one of the mapping pens out and starting to write everything:

-KNOWING THINGS-

_-Thatch, Haruta, Marco, "Pops" names, friends, people and places on Moby Dick_

_-map making, sea charts_

_-Master Zeke memories_

_-plague island_

_-navigation skills_

_-Marco fighting moves_

_-Whiskey scary_

_-Stefan_

_-recognize food_

_-small things, words, people, events, social things_

_-Moby Dick home, Whitebeard "Pops"_

-NOT KNOWING-

_-2 years memories_

_-*map making, sea charts, navigation skills_

_-old fighting moves_

_-forgetting crew_

_-why anything happens_

_-small things about myself_

_-learning anything strange_

_-why knowing names?_

_-second division commander/commander office?_

He couldn't think of anything else, and folded the paper up before finding a small crack in the wall and slipping the small paper inside. Nobody would know to look there. After that, he turned off the lamp on the desk and left the room, heading back to his own to sleep.


	11. Someone To Confide In

**Kagura96: I put Ace through so much in most of my stories. Poor baby. Though Luffy often gets the same treatment lol.**

**chalmao: I read a fanfic once where Thatch was an asshole and it was so hard not to get angry. Like "Thatch would never act like that, how could you disgrace him?!" lol.**

**iMeshls: Thank you!**

**Nekokratik: Who knows if it's time travel or not? Could be multiple ways, but you'll have to keep reading to find out!**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: Hopefully he doesn't find out behind Ace's back. It would be better if he told him by his will, but who knows?**

* * *

The next day, he fetched the piece of paper and brought it to Thatch in the kitchen after he'd cleaned up breakfast and before starting lunch. "Thatch, I wrote down everything weird," he said, and laid the paper out on the counter. Thatch took it and read the list.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was this much. Wait, what's the second division commander part?" he wondered, and Ace put his face in his hands, irritated with himself. Well, there was no way he could just tell Thatch to forget about it.

He sighed and explained, "Sometimes that just pops into my head. And I keep thinking the office is 'mine'. I don't know what it means, and I rarely get any context surrounding it. Just the stupid words pop into my head." Thatch looked surprised.

"Well, maybe you'll become the commander some day, who knows?" Ace pointed out that he wasn't commander quality. He wasn't courageous enough. "Well, it doesn't mean it happens soon, right?" the chef offered helpfully. "I wouldn't think too hard about that one, Ace."

Ace nodded, and said he wouldn't. Thatch then asked about "Master Zeke". "That's the guy I am sure taught me mapping and charting. I have no doubt it was him, if that ever actually happened."

Thatch gave him the list back, and Ace folded it up before putting it in his pocket. "I think you should continue keeping track of that. It might be helpful in the future," he said, and Ace agreed. He didn't know how it would be or when, but it would possibly be helpful. "Also, I'd keep that someplace safe. Someone could find it and think something strange about it."

"I will. I already found a hiding place for it," Ace replied. Thatch said that was good, and reminded Ace that Shanks would be arriving some time that day. Ace nodded, not having forgotten. He didn't remember meeting Shanks, so he wanted to see him himself, see who Luffy admired so much.

Saber had told him he'd thanked Shanks for saving and influencing Luffy, so he wouldn't do it again. That'd be embarrassing. Ace and Thatch left the kitchen and Ace went to hide the list before he joined his brothers out on deck, waiting for the other yonko to arrive. And it didn't take too long before his ship arrived. Ace didn't recognize it at all.

When both ships were parallel, they both furled the sails and dropped anchor, the smallest yonko of the bunch walking onto the deck. Suddenly, people started collapsing besides the commanders, Ace and Deuce. Teach was up as well. But everyone else was knocked out. Thatch patted his back, saying Shanks used conqueror's haki to knock them out.

Ace's face went white, remembering using something similar when he was protecting Luffy from Bluejam when they were kids. He vaguely heard muffled voices, giving him suggestions on how to use it. But he didn't know if he'd ever be able to, and didn't care. He just didn't care. Haruta complimented Ace and Deuce for staying conscious.

Ace's orange hat was extremely recognizable, and Shanks saw him before he even looked at Whitebeard. "Oh, it's Ace! Long time no see! I didn't know you joined Whitebeard. Your ambition gone?" he asked in a teasing way.

The teen felt incredibly awkward. "Um, nice to see you again, too. Yeah, I've changed since then," he replied. Marco was grimacing at the interaction.

Shanks frowned. "Why are you acting like we've never met? You'll hurt my feelings," he joked.

"I've lost the memories of the last two years of my life. I don't remember ever meeting you. Sorry," Ace explained stiffly. Shanks blinked a few times before frowning. He apologized, saying that was a heavy loss. "Thanks," Ace said with a small smile. Shanks seemed nice so far. He then brought his massive bottle of sake to Whitebeard, and Ace got very bored while they had the conversation.

He eventually went inside and to the library to finish the book he'd left last night. The commanders were all required out on deck, and Ace wasn't. _Yet._

"Shut up…" Ace grumbled. He went to the book and immersed himself in the story, not even noticing he fell asleep, losing the page he was on. When he woke up, someone had put a blanket over him, even if he didn't get hot. But it was nice, and he didn't know who'd done it so he couldn't thank anybody.

When he went back out of the library, Shanks was still there, but the crew was all awake now. He got nasty and suspicious looks a lot, and it tanked his mood. He eventually just went to the office and sat behind the desk, just wanting to be alone. He didn't want to be glared at anymore. He wiped under his eyes, not wanting to cry.

People didn't usually come there, but commanders could still come over and find him with haki. He leaned against the desk, looking at the wall across from him. He wasn't visible from the door or hallway.

Eventually, someone did come in, and sat next to him, leaning against the desk, too. It was Marco, and he asked Ace if he was okay, since the teen was hunched over in a ball, his arms wrapped around his knees. "Not really," Ace answered honestly. Marco frowned and put his arm around Ace's shoulders.

"I'll talk to my division, and maybe have Pops talk to everyone," Marco offered. "I'm sorry they've reacted so badly. I don't think you are a spy. I _know_ you aren't. And I know you're missing two years of your life, so you could have learned by someone else and don't remember it. Like learning about mapping and chart making."

Ace replied, "It was your move. I don't think others would copy it like that and then teach someone else."

"Then I'm not sure where it came from," Marco said quietly. Ace laughed humorously.

"The future you taught me," he said, trying to joke but telling what he truly thought. He expected Marco to chuckle or point out that was impossible, but he took it seriously.

The first mate responded, "Well, that would make more sense than you being a spy. At least in my eyes. Weird shit happens in the Grand Line, who knows if time-travel is possible?" he asked, sounding quite serious. Ace looked at him in shock, and then glanced at the wall that held his paper. Marco was taking him seriously. Would he believe what Ace thought? What he remembered?

Ace stood up and walked to his hiding place, making Marco watch, and pulled the folded paper out of the narrow crack in between boards, and brought it back to him, sitting back down, and handing Marco the piece of paper, looking away immediately, face red and heart beating quickly. Marco looked down at it and unfolded it, reading down the list. He didn't really show any reaction, unreadable to Ace.

"This is all stuff you know that you don't remember learning?" Ace nodded silently. "Do you have memories you shouldn't?" Marco asked, taking this all seriously, not brushing him off and not looking at him like he was an idiot or freak. Just looked concerned and serious.

The teen nodded. "Just small things. Short dialogues. Except the man who I learned mapping from. I met him on the island. He didn't know me but I knew all about him. That's why I was freaking out on the mountain. I didn't know what to think. I never went through any of that. And my old crew said I was never good at mapping, even when I tried. Said I never learned when we were sailing," he explained quietly.

Marco folded the paper back up. "That's why you know things you've never learned? Because you didn't remember learning and it wasn't in the last two years?" Ace nodded again. "You knew things about the Moby Dick the first day you were here?"

"Yeah. I knew peoples' names and faces, where the infirmary and kitchen was. I knew small things that Thatch said I shouldn't. Like rude nicknames for you, or Izo hating when someone touches him. And the whole paint prank thing Thatch and Haruta do. I wasn't sure what was going on, so Thatch had known from the beginning ," Ace explained quietly. More like a whisper. "I knew when the island had a plague on it. It wasn't Thatch that had a dream about it, I told him I had a bad feeling about it and he didn't give me away."

Marco smiled softly. "Thatch really is a good man," he sighed. Ace agreed.

"He's been my lifeline through all of this stuff. It's hard, not saying stuff I know I shouldn't. I don't like drinking anymore because I'm afraid I'll be drunk and say something I shouldn't," Ace replied. "Thatch thinks I came from the future. And that's why I have memories of things that haven't happened yet."

Marco put a hand on Ace's shoulder. "I believe you, and will support you as best as I can. And I won't tell anyone, not even Pops. I swear." Ace had tears down his cheeks and wiped them away, trying to stop them. "Thank you for telling me. It means a lot that you trust me like this, and I understand why you've kept it a secret." Ace smiled at him and nodded once.

"And I'm sorry you lost all of that time, and instead know things that you shouldn't. I'd much rather know my past than the future," Marco said quietly. "Why don't we put that somewhere nobody will find it?" he asked, gesturing to the piece of paper Ace was now holding. "Nobody dares to go into our bedrooms. I can hide it there."

Ace accepted the offer, and the two of them got up and walked to Marco's room. "What did you write about the second division commander?" he wondered while he hid the paper inside the base of the lamp near his bed.

The youngest shrugged. "That's the most annoying one. Sometimes I'll just hear 'second division commander' in my head with zero context. I don't like hearing voices in my head. Makes me feel crazy," he confessed.

Marco set the lamp back down, now completely hiding the piece of paper. "I don't think you're crazy. And maybe you'll become a commander in the future." Ace pointed out that was what Thatch had said and said he wouldn't make a good commander. "Perhaps, I guess we'll just see, right?" Marco asked with a smile. Ace nodded, and the two left the room. "If you want to write on the list again if anything new comes up, I give you permission to go get it if I'm not around, okay?"

Ace thanked him. "Thank you, for being understanding and taking me seriously." Marco put his arm around Ace's shoulders and thanked him for confiding in him. "Now Thatch is gonna be upset he'd not be the only one who knows everything."

"Most likely," Marco agreed.

-x-

"Nooo! Whyyy?" Thatch lamented when Marco and Ace walked over and told him their secret was now shared between four, though Thatch and Marco knew everything.

Ace said, "It just felt right to tell him. Who knows, maybe he could help out figuring out what's up?" He didn't want Thatch to feel bad. Thatch crossed his arms and glared at Marco.

"I'm still his favorite brother," he huffed, and Marco chuckled. Ace just laughed and nodded. Thatch would always have a special place in his heart. But after that, Marco started hanging out with both of them more. Since Ace now had two people to tell, it was easier to tell them at the same time. Marco and Thatch were close, but had different jobs so they weren't together too much during the day.

Ace wasn't in charge of anything, so he could chill with Thatch more. And people noticed. They didn't glare when Marco or Thatch was with him, and when Marco had told his division that he did not approve of the way they were treating Ace, the glares faded a bit.

But, predictably, there was one who looked for any chance to break Marco's trust in Ace, and that was Aioba. Only he had far reaching consequences. Going after Ace, saying rude things despite Ace being firm for him to stop, telling him his works weren't the best, had alienated him from much of their division.

Ace had been told that before he came, Aioba still had attitude problems, but Ace exacerbated them and caused them to be more pronounced. It was when Jozu was leader of the division for that week when Ace finally exposed that he had made sea charts in his sleep. It wasn't just the first anymore, he'd made two more charts over the last couple of weeks.

It was only when he forgot to lock his bedroom door when he got out. Otherwise, he'd usually still be in his bed while sometimes leaning against the door. It made his back stiff when he fell asleep on the floor, but there wasn't much he could do about it. The sleeping medicine made him feel nauseous in the morning, so locking his door was the best chance.

So, when he told Jozu that he wanted to take striker out to measure the currents, Jozu had asked why. "I can make sea charts, too. In my sleep, but I want to see if I can do it while awake."

"You liar! You're too young to have learned to make sea charts," Aioba said, and those around sighed, but said nothing. Jozu looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and asked why Ace would lie. He couldn't fake making a sea chart.

"I don't see why not, Ace. We're stopping here for the day while the sails are being repaired, so go ahead. Just be careful," the large commander said. Ace thanked him and nodded, not sparing a glance at his "bully". He heard light scolding from the room before he got the help of Deuce to get striker out and into the water.

He wasn't sure what to do, so he just let his body take over, and spent a good seven hours out there, somehow not falling asleep even though he was tired by the end. He followed the eternal pose back and called down for someone to lower ropes to help bring the vessel back up. His watermelon backpack was full of equipment, and he climbed up the rope ladder lowered down before helping pull striker up.

He got an apple to eat before heading to his temporary office and started charting. Like the last map he made, which was now a few weeks ago, he let himself zone out as his hands did the work for him, making smooth lines that he had observed and measured, looking at his notes as he did so. It was finished before Thatch came and got him, ordering him to take a break and get food.

"Okay, I'm done anyway," Ace said with a satisfied smile.

"Ooh, let me see," Thatch said and hurried in to look at the neat and clean chart. "Wow, it looks so professional." Ace pointed out that there was nothing to compare it to so he didn't know if it was accurate. "And you learned this from Master Zeke?" Ace nodded.

"If my flash forwards were right, he taught me. I don't know why I was there so long, but I did learn from him. He could be a jerk," Ace said, but sounded fond. Thatch pointed that out, and Ace said he thought he got along with him well. When he met him he felt happiness and fondness at seeing him "again".

"Well, time for dinner anyways, lil' bro," Thatch said, thumping Ace on the back. He put his things away and then walked with Thatch back to the galley, which still had people eating, but was not at full capacity. It was pasta night, with all sorts of pasta dishes. Ace sat next to Marco, who was still eating, reading the paper at the same time.

"Hey, how'd your charting go?" Marco asked, putting the newspaper down to the side of his plate. Ace explained that it was a bit tiring and somewhat boring, but the end was satisfying. "Can I see it?" Marco asked. Ace nodded, said he'd show him later.

Ace froze suddenly, and Marco asked if he was okay. "I… think the next island is on fire," Ace said, holding his head. It felt clearer. Not just a bad feeling. "Not just a bad feeling, I feel like it's on fire." Then he stood up, and hurried outside. Marco followed him, Ace's food forgotten, with Thatch shouting at him to eat in irritation.

The island they were arriving at the next day was not far at all, even if they couldn't see it. If the storm hadn't damaged the moby Dick, they'd have arrived that day. He hurried to the navigation room and got a pair of binoculars. He looked in the direction ahead of them and slightly to the left, and saw a faint plume of smoke. "Marco, there's smoke," Ace said.

Marco took the binoculars from him, and saw the small amount of smoke as well. It wasn't a super helpful "vision" since anyone would notice it eventually, but it did help. It wasn't something useless. "And we need to restock. Shit," Marco said.

Ace commented that he didn't think it would go well. Just by the fact it was burning, it would be dangerous both from inhaling smoke and lighting the ship on fire. He could douse the flames with his own powers, but it could still do damage if it touched the sails.

"Yeah, we can't dock when it's like that. I hope people got away…" It wasn't a protected island under them, but they still hoped the citizens were safe. "Thanks, Ace. Now, go eat while I do something about this."

Ace nodded, and then asked if he could go into his room to write down on his list. Marco nodded, saying he didn't need to ask, and went inside to eat quickly before hurrying out. He walked to the commanders' hall and entered Marco's room, heading to the lamp and unscrewing the bottom of it with a screwdriver Marco told him was in the desk drawer, and took the paper out.

"Ace? What are you doing in Marco's room?" a deep voice behind him asked. It was Rayuko. He was suspicious, since nobody was supposed to even be in this hall. Ace gulped, not wanting to be seen as guilty, even if Marco would assure the other commander that Ace had permission.

He said, "I'm getting something of mine. Marco gave me permission." His voice shook a bit out of nervousness, and Rayuko looked suspicious. He asked what he was doing with the lamp. "The thing was inside it."

"Why?"

"...Um, it's a secret between me and Marco," he replied awkwardly, even if it was the truth. Rayuko didn't believe him. "We can go ask Marco," he offered. Someone guilty would not offer that, and it seemed to surprise the man. "I just gotta write something down and then i'll be out in a second."

The wild-haired man nodded, and turned around so he wouldn't see what Ace was doing. He took a pen from the cup on the desk and wrote _fire on island_ before putting it back. He walked out and he and Rayuko went to find Marco. They walked in silence, and even though Ace knew he wasn't guilty, he was still uncomfortable.

They found Marco on deck speaking to Pops, both frustrated with not being able to dock. There was nothing they could do to help, since the fire was still burning and the smoke was now easily visible from a distance. "Marco, Ace was in your bedroom. He says you gave him permission." Rayuko sounded openly suspicious.

"That's right. He was messing with the bedside lamp, right?" The other commander nodded, brows furrowed. "Yeah, I gave him permission. It's fine," Marco said casually. Pops looked curious and confused, but Marco went back to planning with him on what to do next. Ace slipped away awkwardly, with Rayuko looking at him in curiosity, but then shrugging and went to join the conversation about what to do.

When Ace went back inside, Thatch stormed up to him angrily. "EAT! I order you to eat!" he shouted, making Ace chuckle.

"Yes, sir," he joked and went back to the galley to serve himself another plate, starving after only eating an apple since breakfast. He was mostly alone in the galley when Teach sat next to him. "Hey, Teach. What's up?"

"Me and the guys are gonna have a competition of who can eat the most cherry pies. Wanna join?" he asked, and Ace was more than willing to binge on cherry pies, which Teach was almost unhealthily obsessed with. Maybe that was why he was so large.

"Sure, sounds fun," Ace replied. "When is it?"

"Tonight at the birthday celebration for the fall," Teach explained. Ace told him it might be postponed, since they had to conserve more food. "Why? What happened?" Teach asked, clearly not hearing the news of their skipping the burning land.

Ace explained, "The island we were supposed to dock at and resupply is on fire. You can see the smoke from here." Teach swore, grumbling about looking forward to the party. Ace frowned, wondering if he only cared about that, and not the lives of those on the island. Sure, they were pirates, but it was a little cold. Ace hadn't outwardly shown he was upset, but he did wish for the islanders to have escaped. But how would they put out a fire so big they could see the plume over a mile away?

"Well, rain check, then?" Teach asked happily. Ace nodded, saying, "Sure…" He watched Teach walk away, and frowned at the reaction. Well, he was a pirate. Not all pirates were saints. Ace knew he wasn't. But the others might show some empathy for those on the doomed island. Ace looked away, frowning at his food. He wanted to check on the island. Maybe he could go with Marco.

He stuffed the rest of the food into his mouth and then hurried outside to Pops. "Pops, can I go check on the island? Maybe I can put the fire out," Ace said. Whitebeard asked if he was able to do that. Ace looked at his palms. "I don't know, but I'd like to try. Even if I can't, the fire won't harm me at all."

Pops nodded, saying it was worth a try. Ace thanked him and he and the nearest pirates helped him bring striker back into the water in record time before he jumped off and sped towards the island, a mask over his mouth and nose to help with smoke inhalation. Marco flew after him in full phoenix form to go his fastest. They said nothing on the way until they both reached the burnt docks. Ace swore at the sight of the island.

The fire was hundreds of feet in the air, and he heard faint screaming. Marco flew into the fire to look for survivors while Ace took a deep breath and thrust his hands into the fire, trying to put out the flames, trying to push them away, but that didn't work. Maybe he could consume the fire. He grunted and pictured the fire being sucked into his body.

He screamed at the pain of it, feeling absolutely ill from how much he was absorbing. He didn't know the exact extent of his fire powers besides what his former crew told him he could do. He grit his teeth and scrunched his eyes as he felt his skin start to burn. He snapped his eyes open to see that his skin was just fine. He wasn't burning alive, even though it felt that way.

It was a good fifteen minutes of pain before he noticed the flames shrinking and the height lowering before there was a final whoosh and the fire was gone, revealing burnt forests and broken homes. He fell to his hands and knees, wincing at the feeling of his arms. He coughed on the smoke and finally passed out.

When he woke up, he was in the infirmary, arms burning painfully. He had an oxygen mask on, and coughed, his throat hurting so bad from the smoke. He took it off and saw Thatch and Haruta sleeping on the nearest bed, Thatch's arm on Haruta's face, but neither awake. Ace sat up and took the mask off, coughing again.

There was a large glass of water by the bed, so he drank a lot of it. He looked at his burning arms and saw they were red. Not looking like a burn mark, but pinker than usual. He moved one hand to poke the other arm and hissed, scolding himself internally.

He didn't want to wake his guests, but leaned back in the bed. He was just about to fall asleep before there was a painful, sharp feeling in his head that made him cry out.

_We didn't get here fast enough. Everyone is dead._

_And the fire is still burning. There's nothing we can do._

Hearing those words caused him pain in his head, the first time any dialogue or words in his head had caused pain. In the words, he gathered that the island had _not_ been put out, and everyone had died. But… that's not what happened. He'd put the fire out, even if it had been very painful.

He didn't know if any of the people living on the island were alive, but he had put the fire out when the words in his mind hinted that he hadn't. He changed something. If they really were things he'd done in the future, was that what happened if he deviated? Had he been doing everything right so far? Even though he had memories of things he didn't end up doing, this hadn't happened before.

He held his head and sighed, closing his eyes. But the headache was there and he wanted some pain medicine, not knowing if it would do any good, but it was better than doing nothing. He said, "Thatch, Haruta," with coughs in between. They both woke up and shouted his name, hurrying over. "My head hurts," he said.

"Pain medicine, right!" Haruta exclaimed. "Sorry," he added when Ace winced at the loud noise. He left to go get something for Ace and Thatch stayed next to him, asking how he felt.

"Throat hurts and arms burn," Ace replied, his voice hoarse. Thatch put his hand through Ace's hair and smiled at him.

"You breathed in a lot of smoke, so your lungs and throat are irritated. You should put the mask back on," he said kindly. "You saved a lot of people. The fire was put out before it burnt ships. The villagers are mostly safe, Marco is working to help them with their injuries on their own ships. Striker is back here, don't worry."

Ace grinned tiredly. "Not very pirate-like, am I?" Thatch chuckled, and adjusted the bed so he was sitting more and could take the pain pills with water. He couldn't tell Thatch what he thought caused the headache because Haruta was there. "How long was I out?"

"Around four hours. You fell unconscious on the island and Marco flew you back. After you were in here, he went back and pulled striker to the ship like a horse in front of a carriage. It was funny," Thatch said, voice quiet to not hurt Ace's head. "While the fire is out and the remaining citizens are safe, we won't be getting any supplies from that island. It's uninhabitable now, so the villagers will be moved to our nearest protected island."

Ace frowned. It was too bad they wouldn't be able to live in their home anymore. So he asked why that was. "All of the vegetation is gone and the water is heavily polluted. They can't live on that island anytime soon. Maybe they'll return some day, that's up to them," Thatch explained. Haruta said he was going to go get Pops and tell them he was awake.

Once he left, Ace said, "I changed what happened. What was supposed to happen, I think. That's why my head hurts."

Thatch frowned, and said, "Haven't you changed things before?"

"I guess nothing worth thinking about. Maybe saving all these people changed something? I just heard me and Marco talking about everyone on the island dead and the fire still burning. Then my heart hurt, like a spike going through it," Ace explained.

Before Thatch could reply, Pops was there, smiling at Ace. Thatch moved away from the bed to give Whitebeard space. "How are you feeling son?" he asked fondly, quietly. No doubt Haruta had told him his head hurt.

"Throat and arms hurt. A little tired," Ace replied honestly. He took another gulp of water before Thatch put the oxygen mask back on for him. Ace relaxed into the soft pillows.

Whitebeard said, "Marco said you looked to be in a lot of pain. He heard you screaming, but by the time he got to you, you were unconscious. You did a good thing, Ace. pirate or not, you are a good person and I'm proud to call you my son." Ace turned red but gave a big smile, shyly thanking him.

"Awww, so cute," Thatch cooed, and Ace sent him a glare, which the chef just laughed at. "Are you hungry, Ace? I can make some soup or something." Ace nodded, saying he was hungry. The nurses weren't there at the moment, taking care of all of the other, worse injured people. Thatch left to go get some food for him.

Whitebeard sat on the nearest bed that was sized for the larger members on the crew, and said, "You know you can tell me anything on your mind, right?" he asked, surprising Ace. Ace furrowed his brows and nodded. "About you knowing Marco's fighting moves, I don't think you are a spy, so try not to be bothered by anyone saying that. Most have calmed down, but I still hear it sometimes."

Ace frowned and nodded. The glares had lessened after Marco said something to his division, but he still got them on occasion. "Thanks. I don't remember learning Marco's moves," he said. It was a half truth. He knew he had been taught by him sometime, but did not remember learning it directly. Not some future memory, if those are what they were.

"I know. I wish your memories would come back, son. It must be hard, to not know things you should," Pops said sadly. Ace nodded in agreement. "I haven't talked to you directly in a bit, so I'm sorry about that." Ace pointed out that there were a lot of people on this ship. "Still, as a newer member, I should be spending more time with you and the former Spades.

"Shanks told me about your brother, Luffy. Tell me about him?" Ace smiled and talked all about Luffy for the next hour, even while eating the soup. He ignored the pain in his throat, opting to talk about Luffy instead. He missed him, wishing he could see him again.

He eventually had a sleep attack while speaking, and when he woke up next, nobody was in there. He'd been out for a while, he assumed. He took another drink of the water, the oxygen mask no longer needed. After the water, he stood up, needing to use the bathroom. His arms had bandages on them, but none of the rest of his body hurt, so he was able to walk to the bathroom easily.

After using it, he went back to the bed, making a mental note to write about his broken memory on his paper. He fell asleep, and didn't wake up until noon of the next day.

* * *

**And now Marco knows! Seems like everyone wanted him to know, and of course he'd okay with it. Such a sweetheart.**


	12. A Normal Docking

**Biefa_Less: Thank you! I'm glad you like it so much.**

**Orange: Yeah, no Marco x Ace in this one.**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: whhoooaa, what the hell is _that?_ What's wrong with your comment?**

**Otaku_Gril2176: Marco is the best, but who knows if/when anyone else will find out?**

**Kagura98: I'm honestly so happy I got everybody to hate Aioba so much, lol. Success!**

**iMeshls: Yeah, Marco had to know sooner or later. And lots more happens!**

**chalmao: I finished the first novel and am waiting for the second one. TBH I don't like reading from Deuce's pov. I wanted it from Ace's or at least Ace being the main character in third person. Deuce's way of thinking is annoying to me lol. Hopefully novel 2 is better.**

**Asl_Lover: Thank you!**

* * *

**Wow, thank you for all the comments! Enjoy~**

* * *

"ACE! ACE!" Thatch screamed, running down the hall to the library where Ace had been carried after a sleep attack. He slammed the double doors open, freaking out poor Stefan who was napping on the carpet at Ace's feet. It freaked Ace out as well, who jolted awake at the sharp and sudden noise.

Ace rubbed down his face. "What, Thatch?" he asked tiredly.

"Look, look! They finally noticed!" Thatch said excitedly and hurried over, thrusting the newspaper in his face. Ace took it with a huff before his face brightened. Finally, an article and photo was released of him being on the Whitebeard's crew.

The grainy photo showed mostly his back with a profile visible, showing it was indeed Ace. Plus, the hat and flaming arm might have been obvious it was him. Finally, the world knew he was a Whiteebard. He looked at the title and not the photo. "Rookie Firefist Ace Joins Whitebeard Pirates, Adding Another Threatening Figure to the Yonko Crew." Ace sat proudly.

"Hear that, Thatch? I'm a threatening figure," he said with a grin. "Finally acknowledged! Man, Gramps is gonna be so pissed!" Ace said with a laugh. He'd told thatch about Garp before, so the chef knew what he meant.

Thatch laughed and patted him on the back. "We're stopping at the island tomorrow, finally, to restock. Any bad feelings about it? Please, say no, we can't make it another two weeks," Thatch said, sounding begging. Ace replied that he hadn't yet. "God, I hope there's nothing wrong."

Ace leaned against the couch, looking at the newspaper with a satisfied smile on. "Betcha some people are gonna be mad," Ace said, though he was still smiling. He would be on a high after this for a while probably. Thatch flopped down on the couch next to him.

He replied, "Probably. 'Perfect Ace' strikes again. You know, I never thought people would be mad at someone for being a good person. Like, regular people getting mad about that. You're the opposite of an a-hole. You'd think people would like that! Hmph, it's ridiculous," Thatch grumbled.

After Ace had put out the island fire, some grew angry with the positive attention he often got for various reasons. The commanders tried to stomp out the sparks, but they couldn't monitor every person under them. Ace had gotten used to it by now, even if it was still irritating. He'd been on the crew for over two months, even though it still felt like he'd been there for years.

They were going to have the fall party once they resupply, finally. And then Ace could have the cherry pie eating competition with Teach. He'd moved on from Teach's heartless words about the burning island, since he said that Ace was a good guy for saving so many people. Maybe Ace had just read him wrong in that moment.

"Thatch, do you think everyone plays favorites with me?" Ace wondered. "Not including you, since you're obvious."

Thatch looked up. "Hmmm, I don't think so. With me, yeah, but with the others, we have plenty of close brothers who aren't fellow commanders. Atmos's closest brother isn't a commander, and some of the others are like that, as well. I think Marco has a soft spot for you, but for reasons like mine."

Ace pulled his legs up to sit cross legged on the couch, boots off so he didn't walk on the carpet. He patted the couch for Stefan to come, who wandered over. He walked up the little stack of books to the couch since they tried to keep him from jumping as much as possible. He was seventeen now. Old little guy.

"Is that wrong? Some people complain, I can hear them. I don't feel like I'm taking advantage of your affections. Marco let me have some privileges but said he'd do that for any brother who needed it," Ace said.

"I mean, I don't think it's _wrong._ I think people are just saying that because they don't like that you have positive attention by some of the commanders. Those who complain don't try to be besties with us commanders, so why are they complaining about it?" Thatch wondered. Ace shrugged. He was tired of complaints by people he'd never talked to before. He felt almost controversial on the crew. He hated when someone would say "Ace is too perfect".

Ace is most definitely not perfect. He suffers from whatever is wrong with his head. He suffers from anxiety and chronic insecurity. He was missing two years of his life. Just because he had talents and was a nice person didn't make him perfect. Nobody but Marco and Thatch knew about the full extent of his memory troubles.

They didn't know he'd already suffered from insecurity and fear over the news of him being Roger's son ever got out. Even after Pops told him about Roger, that he wasn't a "bad" guy, his name still haunted Ace, always looming over him, even if it wasn't noticeable much sometimes. He was scared of anyone on the crew knowing. Pops knew, but that was it. Well, Deuce did as well. Still, it was scary.

"I wish people would stop calling me perfect. I'm far from perfect. It's not like I want everyone to know how broken and messed up I am, but acting like I'm some awesome person who can do anything just puts a bad taste in my mouth," Ace said in annoyance.

Thatch frowned. "You're not broken, Ace." The teen looked to Thatch with his eyebrows raised.

"Don't lie, Thatch. There's so much wrong with me," Ace replied, leaning back further into the plush couch. Stefan crawled into his lap. Thatch was looking at him sadly. He changed the subject, which Ace was glad of, and changed it to christmas plans. Ace didn't remember ever having a christmas, so he was not really informed on the customs or what went on. What they did to celebrate.

"So, what do you want for christmas?"

"My missing memories." Thatch frowned at him and Ace laughed. "I don't know. I've never really been given gifts. I mean, Luffy gave me my stupid hat, but that was a going away gift. We never did anything like christmas. And if I did it as a pirate, then I don't remember."

Thatch grinned. "You're first christmas! We'll make it perfect, I promise!" he swore, and then started muttering about decorations and food and music. Ace didn't know what to expect, but looked forward to it, to a new experience. He just hoped it would be a surprise and he wouldn't know anything that would happen. It wouldn't be a useful vision to know how the night went or what gift he got.

He found himself smiling, looking forward to experiencing a new holiday. He knew about birthdays and New Years, but nothing else. He relaxed as Thatch babbled about meal plans, desserts and decorations, gushing to Ace about what the ship looked like when it was all decked out in decorations. He looked forward to helping decorate, even if he didn't understand the point of holly and mistletoe over other plants.

-x-

"We're here! On land, finally!" Haruta cried as he collapsed to his hands and knees on the dock. "Oh, I've missed you!" he cried, literal tears. Thatch joined in on it and soon both of them were sobbing about missing land. Ace was snickering from the side of the ship, happy to be docked somewhere, too, other than an island that wasn't on fire.

Maybe he could map this island, too! Not today, today he wanted to spend his allotted money. He was about to jump off of the ship before pausing. He sighed and pulled at his hair when he got the bad feeling, but it was clearcut.

He pulled on Marco's sleeve, and said in a hush, "I think there's a marine ambush here. I don't know the details." Marco nodded seriously and made an announcement.

"Everyone, there may not be a marine base on this island, but there have been ambushes here often. Be careful and stay aware of your surroundings," he called, everyone nodding before jumping off of the ship and running to the island, barely sidestepping the crying commanders, who suspiciously quickly collected themselves.

"Onward, adventure!" Thatch bellowed, holding his arm up and running to the island from the long dock. It was a stampede of pirates, and Ace was glad he waited to be the last one. Ace had barely gone out of ear shot when Pops asked how Marco knew about ambushes. He wanted to stay to listen, but didn't and instead walked onto the island, unlike his other brothers. He was not interested in brothels or alcohol, so he leisurely walked around, looking at the sights with a content expression on.

"U-Um, excuse me?" he heard a girl's voice say behind him. He turned around and asked what she wanted. He didn't mean to sound rude, but it came across that way. "Do you know your way around here? I think I'm lost." She was just a little kid, looking frightened.

Ace awkwardly said he didn't live on this island. "I'm just visiting, I don't know where I'm going or where anything is," he said honestly. She frowned and looked at her feet. "Where were you trying to go?" he asked, not liking seeing her start to cry. He remembered that he'd made friends with a little girl at Wano, too. Maybe he had an unknown soft spot for kids.

"The fish market. I've never been to that part of town," she said quietly. Ace wanted to ask how she'd gotten lost all the way on this part of the island, but didn't. He looked around and bit his lip. He was a Whitebeard pirate, clearly on his back, so would he be seen as harming her if he helped? Well, he'd be fine.

"How about we head there together?" Ace offered with a smile. She grinned and nodded, holding her otter backpack in her arms. Ace nodded and the two headed into town. Ace had no idea where he was going, just tried to find the smell of fish. Hopefully his senses were as good as they were back on Dawn Island.

A few of his brothers saw him and gave him questioning looks. He gave them uncertain shrugs, not knowing what he was doing. He got them stuck at dead ends four times before she asked, "Mister, do you know what you're doing?"

Ace snorted, and said, "Not really. I don't know where the fish market is, it's a big town. I'm just keeping you safe if there are any bad guys here." She asked why there would be bad guys.

"Like, pirates?! Bad pirates?!" she asked in a panic. Ace's eyebrows raised and he nodded.

"We definitely don't want bad pirates to bother us," he said sternly, nodding along with his words. Man, if anyone found out about this, they'd totally make fun of him. He was glad she didn't see the mark on his back, if she would even recognize the tattoo. Though it was a skull and crossbones. Pretty pirate-ish. Anyone should know that. "How old are you?"

"I'm six," she said. Ace nodded, and followed his nose as he caught the scent of fish. It smelled terrible. Raw fish was horrid while grilled fish smelled delicious. God, Thatch and the other cooks had to deal with this smell while cooking? He wanted to plug his nose but didn't.

"Well, we're at the fish market," Ace said, stopping in front of the first grouping of stands. "Were you supposed to meet someone here?" he wondered. She nodded, saying she was looking for her mom. "What's she look like?"

The girl (whose name he still didn't know) said her mom was tall and with long red hair. That she worked here. Again, Ace wondered how the hell she'd gotten lost on the opposite side of town. Who the fuck was supervising her? "Ok, let's look for her," Ace said, and he looked around for the woman. She was easy enough to find, and Ace crouched down in front of the girl.

"That her over there?" he asked, pointing through the crowd. She gasped and ran to her mom, who shouted her name and picked her up. Ace adjusted his hat and stood up, a satisfied smile on, and walked away. He waved his hand up when he heard the shout of "Thank you!"

Ace was in a pretty good mood for the rest of his exploration of the town. He was drawn to a cheap jewelry shop, seeing a beaded necklace pretty much identical to the one on his hat. He walked in and bought it, paying way too much money for it, before putting it around his neck.

Just from buying that, he was out of money. 50,000 berries sounded like a lot, but it was really enough to pay for expensive sake or a full course meal. Or an overpriced necklace, whatever floats your boat. When he was on his way back to the ship after a few hours of just hanging out in a tree in the park, he came upon the clear remnants of an ambush, dead marines all over the place.

Ace poked one with his toe, seeing he was clearly dead, not just unconscious. He was glad if his warning had helped anyone out, and walked back along the long dock to the ship, jumping up onto it. He found Pops in his chair, being checked by the nurses. Sometimes Ace felt bad for them, having to deal with Pops' stubborn pride.

Marco landed in front of him, addressing Pops, "The rest ran, but I got them. There shouldn't be any marines left, and if they are, there's no way they'd attack in such a small number." Pops said that was good, and Marco turned to Ace, clapping his shoulder and thanking him for the warning in an undertone that the others couldn't hear. "How'd your outing go? Got a necklace?"

Ace nodded, and told him about how he helped a lost girl find her mom before buying the necklace since it matched the one around his hat. "So when does the christmas stuff happen?" Ace asked. Marco had chuckled when he heard Ace helped a lost child.

"We'll start decking out tomorrow. Today's just an outing for everyone. You can make the map after everything is in place," Marco replied. Ace's stomach rumbled, and he said he would go get something to eat. "Better not step into Thatch's kitchen."

Ace grinned. "You know Thatch can't get mad at me," and headed to the kitchen to eat some leftover pasta from two nights ago, which was still fine to eat. He stuffed his face, and when he heard Thatch's loud voice in the hallway coming towards the kitchen, Ace stuffed everything in his mouth, too full that he almost choked, but then stuck the bowl in the sink under another bowl to not be noticeable.

He turned around and hurried away, only to stop when his name was called. "Ace? What is this bowl doing in the sink?" he asked in a sweet voice.

"I was doing the dishes for you," Ace lied smoothly, even though it made no sense.

"Hmm, then why is this not washed out? And if you _were_ doing the dishes, you did a shit job," Thatch replied, totally knowing Ace had gotten something from the fridge.

Ace put a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "How rude. I worked hard, you know," he said with a deep frown. Thatch snorted and said, "Yeah, okay, I totally believe you."

"Well, that's good! See you later!" he said, and ran from the room. He ran straight into Teach, who was in a very bad mood. "Whoa, what's wrong, Teach?" Ace asked, shocked by the extreme anger and grumpiness on Teach's face. He looked away, eyes narrowing.

"Got my hopes up about something that didn't pan out. Well, see you later, Ace," he grumbled. Ace watched him stomp away, back hunched over. Whatever he got his hopes up for really made him upset. Ace wondered what would cause that, since he was usually really laid back. Well, he'd leave Teach alone for now. Looked like the cherry pie eating contest wouldn't be happening that night.

Ace wouldn't stop hearing about pirates gushing about christmas, and he hoped he enjoyed it like others expected him to. He didn't want to have to fake, but he also didn't want to disappoint them when they were all so excited for it.

When Ace went to bed, he had a headache, but not from seeing anything. Just a headache, even if he didn't know the reason. At first he was afraid he'd have a painful vision, but he fell asleep just fine, and had remembered to lock the door so he didn't wander out of his room.

-x-

"Hey! What are you doing?! This is my property!" an old man with a hunched back shouted at Ace as he stood at the peak of part of the island. He did know he was trespassing, but had just hoped nobody would notice, since the home to whoever owned this property was far from where he needed to be.

"I'm making a map and need to measure all of the peaks. I've done nothing to your crops," Ace replied honestly, putting his notes in his backpack. He was done there, and didn't want to get in a tiff with some random guy.

"Still, this is my land! I should report you!" he shouted, poking his cane in Ace's direction. Ace really doubted reporting a pirate would do anything good for him. So Ace just said, "Not happening," and turned around to walk away, showing off his tattoo, which he heard the guy freak about.

There were no marine bases here, so the guy couldn't call them on Ace. Going on islands without bases were nice because he knew he could mostly trust that he wouldn't be interrupted. He had the shores to measure next, and was heading down to the cliffs and then to the beach. He wasn't involved in the decorating today, as they all wanted it to be a surprise for him.

Everyone was really excited for Ace's first christmas, including the former Spades since Ace didn't remember their times celebrating the holiday for two years. So, Ace didn't know what to expect besides decorations, food and presents. They did something called "secret santa" where each person buys one gift for another. 

Usually nobody bought one for their close friends, wanting to branch off more and think outside of the box. It was plenty easy to get gifts for close brothers/friends, but getting one for someone else required them to talk to you and give hints. Ace thought it was a good idea. He had someone from the third division.

He had hinted for anything art related, since he liked to draw in his spare time, so Ace was going to buy him a journal and a nice pen. When he'd asked what Ace wanted, Ace said the same. Having a notebook or sketchbook of some sort might help him practice drawing certain things on his maps. Plus, he had nothing else he wanted, so that was easier than trying to come up with something.

So, he spent the day on the island mapping before quickly hitting up an art store and buying a nice journal and pen with quality ink with his present money, which they were all allotted the same amount of money.

Nearing dinner was when he headed back to the ship and boarded it to see the door open to the inside, since it was nice outside and getting some fresh air inside would be nice. There was rainbow glowing coming from inside, and he entered to see fairy lights, rainbow colored, taped to the ceiling, making the room glow a bright array of colors. As he walked in further, he saw wreaths and decorations on door knobs. There were some plastic ornaments hanging from the ceiling where there weren't lights. He smiled, looking around.

When he entered the galley, he saw nobody was eating, and instead there were massive rolls of wrapping paper that pirates were working on to wrap. Ace looked at his watermelon bag that held his presents and brought them to his room to wrap when there was more room and left the mapping supplies in the office. _Mine._ He ignored it like he usually did.

The voice in his head liked to insist that this was _his_ office. And when he walked past the second division bedroom to get to Marco's to write on his paper, whose list was longer than before by now, he kept hearing that that was his bedroom, but had refrained from opening it and looking or going inside.

Since the galley was busy at the moment, he headed to the crowsnest since the weather was so nice. He watched the island from high above, seeing the fish market in the distance. He wondered if the girl got lost a lot and why she had no damn supervisor to look after her, a six year old.

Haruta came out to get Ace for dinner, saying things were wrapped up, adding "no pun intended". Ace said okay and jumped down from the crowsnest. "Man, I wish I could do that without breaking my legs." Ace chuckled, saying it didn't hurt, but wasn't exactly comfortable. They walked inside and Ace saw that all of the wrapped presents, which varied in quality, were in the corner of the room, taking up most of the far wall.

"How long does it take to open presents?" Ace wondered.

"Not long when everyone does it at the same time. I can't believe I got Thatch. He already has every cooking thing on the planet!" Haruta complained dramatically. "But I got him something," he added mischievously. Ace wondered what it was.

Ace sat with Deuce that night, wondering what he'd gotten for his present. "What did you get for your guy?"

Deuce swallowed his food before saying, "A kit for cleaning the hilt of his sword. Everyone has cleaner for the blade, but his hilt is pretty dirty. What did you get?" Ace told him about his gifts, saying they weren't too original but it was what his guy hinted for. They then got on the topic of Ace's mapping process.

He told him about running into the man after trespassing on his land. "He got scared once he saw the mark," Ace commented. Deuce and the other former Spades had marks, but none were very obvious besides Deuce's, whose was on his shoulder, the same one Ace had his tribute tattoo on.

After dinner was cleaned up, those who hadn't wrapped their presents yet did their wrapping under clusters of holly and fairy lights, lighting up the room with a colorful hue, even if the regular lights were on. There were so many massive extension cords in the plugs so they could all be lit at the same time.

When Ace went to put his gifts in the pile of presents, he noticed they were in sections, and he put his in the third division section so they were easy to get everyone instead of digging through over 1000 gifts. That would take forever. Ace was getting really excited about it, and decided to start his map tomorrow since he would probably end up getting tired and being unable to finish it that night.

The next morning, Ace ate some breakfast before going to the office and starting on his map. He was no longer on autopilot, and knew what he was doing. He wished he had gone through the process of learning for real, since he would have been able to see the difference between his first maps and now his better ones.

Stefan ran in, and Ace almost spilled ink on his map when he jumped against Ace's calves. He put the pen down and crouched to ruffle the dog's head. "What'cha doin' here, Stefan?" Ace wondered, and the dog ran to the doorway, barking to get his attention. Ace stood and followed him out, Stefan going slower now. He led Ace to Pops' room and stared at the closed door.

Ace walked to it and opened it just a crack. "There you go, boy," he said as the dog ran in. He barely saw him crawl into a comfortable looking dog bed. Ace saw the book they used to keep the door open and reached inside to get it and put it in place. He smiled at the dog sleeping already, snoring loudly.

He went back to his map to finish it up. It had been a couple hours since he'd started. He really liked the peace and quiet he got in there, even if he sometimes heard other commanders working in their own offices with the doors open, the sounds of pens scratching paper, or adjusting chairs.

Some grumbled often, especially Namur and Atmos. Nobody liked doing paperwork, but they had to. After he finished his map, he put the supplies in their places and blew on the ink to dry it. He waited for it to dry, which happened quickly as they were just lines and no large pools of it. He smiled at it and rolled it up before heading to the navigation room.

Nobody was there, thankfully, and he opened the New World map catalogue and looked for this island to compare. His was a bit more detailed, but looked correct. He didn't know why master Zeke thought the Whitebeards had shit navigators and mapmakers. Had he ever seen any of the maps before? He wondered if the guy had met the crew before. Marco didn't recognize the name, so Ace wasn't too confident that was what had happened.

He pulled out some of his maps from the cubby, the ones that weren't needed by the crew, and took them to his room after swiping a roll of tape from one of the rooms that held papers, pens, ink, rulers, tape measures, etc.

When Ace got to his room, he taped his maps to the walls and smiled at them. The sea charts were in also now on the wall, since nobody needed them and they were just fun for Ace to make. He felt his room had more personality. It had just been empty before. Marco's room had been more personal, with books and little decorations on the shelves. Plus, he had photos in frames of family.

Ace hadn't been able to not look, seeing him when he was a teen with a much smaller crew than it was now. He looked so goofy and fun. Ace wondered when he got "boring". Well, he was a lot older. Don't people get more mature as they age? Dadan and Garp sure didn't seem that way. He looked away from his maps and left the room, returning the objects he'd used to put them up to their rightful places.

He went to the bathroom before going to bed, locking the door behind him. He wished he could make more maps, but he was unable to conjure past land specifications he'd need to make a map when he was conscious. Unconscious was a different tale.

But, when he woke up, he was more shocked than he had been in weeks. He put his face in his hands and growled. He turned on the light fully and saw what he'd done to the floor. It wasn't even neat! It was smeared and messy! Why would he try to draw on the _floor!?_ Would he get in trouble? He hoped not, he hadn't done it on purpose.


	13. First Christmas With the Whitebeards

**chalmao: I'm still reading the second one and I like it from Ace's pov. But there were some things that really annoyed me. Like some of the plot points being wrong. One was small the other was big. I like some Whitebeard and Ace fanfics more than the story tbh lol. But I'm happy Thatch got so much "screen time". He was barely introduced in canon plot, so I feel people weren't upset about his death, since they didn't know him.**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: lol, how did you do that, though? Can you link pictures in comments or something? I've never tried.**

**OtakuPie: <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3< <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3! What will you do now? lol**

**Biefa_Less: There's more Stefan to come! Cute old pup.**

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**This chapter has some humor in it. Enjoy~**

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Ace sighed and got dressed, grumpy while walking down the halls to the galley for breakfast, already in a terrible mood. Hopefully it didn't last, but luckily it wasn't christmas. He could be happy tomorrow when it finally came. Thatch, of course, noticed his demeanor immediately, and asked what was wrong.

"I vandalized my room while asleep," Ace grumbled. Thatch blinked twice and started laughing before he asked what he'd done. "I drew a map on the fucking floor! And it doesn't even look good, it's messy and smeared!" Ace said angrily.

Thatch started laughing again, and Ace got mad at him, telling him it wasn't funny. "How would you like waking up and not knowing where you went or what you did during the night? Not remembering doing things? It's not fun or funny, Thatch," he said, and the chef looked guilty, apologizing for being inconsiderate. "Is there any way to get it off?" he asked, hoping he could fix it.

Especially since the pen he'd used had been a permanent marker. "What kind of pen was it?" Thatch asked as he flipped pancakes as Ace ate the first batch, one of the first to be there for breakfast.

"Permanent."

"Don't worry too much. Rubbing alcohol can get rid of it if you rub hard enough," Thatch said calmly, and Ace sighed, glad he hadn't permanently vandalized that room. God, it would have been a mess to do that in a shared room. Or he might have done it on the underside of the bunk bed. "Maybe get all of the pens out of your room?"

"Definitely."

After breakfast, Ace scrubbed the wood floor of his room, scrubbing hard as the marker wasn't cooperating. But, after ten minutes of rubbing the same spot, that part faded. The whole thing had to be five feet from side to side. He even made a square outline and the grid, though the lines weren't straight at all.

There was a knock on the door and Thatch opened it, carrying his own bucket and rag. "I've come to help," he said and Ace smiled and thanked him. Thatch looked down at the floor and whistled. "Man, you are addicted to making maps aren't you?"

"I guess so," Ace replied. It took a lot less time with Thatch, and soon the floor was back to normal. "Don't tell anyone else." Thatch agreed that he wouldn't. Nobody else knew what had happened, which Ace was happy with. But he was surprised when he went back to his room for his new necklace, and found there was a rug where the map had been.

There was a paper on it that read, "No more floor maps!" Thatch somehow got him a rug from somewhere, Ace didn't know where. He smiled, and neither of them said a thing about it the rest of the day.

Ace kind of wished he knew what island he'd drawn, even if it was crap quality. But it was gone now, so he wouldn't know. Everyone was so excited about the next day, and Ace thought they were acting like little kids (normal ones, not like he was) and just pretending to walk past the wall when they were actually searching for their own names in the pile of presents for their divisions. It was funny, and they weren't stealthy at all.

Ace was in a much better mood after cleaning the floor than he was when he woke up. He went on the island that day, alone again, and went to the park he'd been at before. He was content, but something felt a bit wrong. Not the usual warning wrong. He just felt off, but couldn't pinpoint what it was. And no random thoughts were coming.

He laid on his back with his hat over his face and napped for a bit under the shade. When he woke up, it was to the sounds of girls giggling, and he frowned deeply. People were around him and he sat up quickly, knocking his hat off and into his lap.

While he was sleeping, apparently a group of women thought he would make a good place to have a picnic…? Don't people usually go places where someone else _isn't_ in very close proximity?

"Oh, hi. Do you mind if we eat here?" one with blonde hair asked. Ace, awkward with talking to any woman but Makino, didn't have a filter.

"Well, I was napping here but you woke me up," he said bluntly. She looked shocked that he hadn't been completely polite and compliant. The other girls looked concerned as well. Ace was irritated, since this was a really nice spot to nap, right where the breeze was hitting him.

"Well, you can always nap another time," she tried, cheeks red. Ace felt bad for embarrassing her, but he was hiding his own embarrassment. Then, someone made it even worse.

"Ahahaha!" Haruta laughed, pointing at Ace from across the grassy field. "Ace is a lady's man! Hahahaha!" The other girls clearly thought Ace's blush was cute or funny or something else stupid.

"Shut up and go back to the ship!" Ace shouted, irritated with how funny his brother found the situation. Ace just wanted to continue napping! "I gotta go," he grumbled to the women and stood up, back no longer against the tree so they could see his tattoo.

The blonde asked, in a nervous voice, if he was a pirate, like he was going to torch them if he wanted to. But then again, pirates could be horrible people so their hesitancy was justified, even if Ace didn't look very threatening right now. "Yeah, Firefist Ace of the Whitebeard pirates," he replied honestly. Soon, he was no longer surrounded by women, and he was able to nap again without interruption.

When he got back to the ship, Haruta and Thatch were smiling behind their hands. Great, Haruta told the other prankster. Would they try to embarrass him now? Well, at least he got his nap in the end, so that was a plus. If he were someone interested in relationships, being a wanted pirate might make things tense. Good thing Ace didn't care about any of that.

For dinner, Thatch kept asking him about picnics, and Ace was really having a hard time not throwing his fork at him. Finally, when Izo asked what had happened, Thatch didn't wait to explain that Ace got ambushed by a pack of women. And that he was totally rude. Ace huffed, wanting to just leave.

"Okay, leave him alone," Marco said once Thatch and Haruta both started laughing again. "It's obviously pissing him off." And it was, as Ace was scowling at the table with hatred in his eyes. Thatch finally conceded and stopped making fun of him. From now on he'd just flat out say he was a pirate and get them to leave him alone, if this ever happened again.

When it was bedtime, Ace locked the door and even tied his ankle to the bed so he couldn't get off and wreck the floor again. There may be a rug now, but that didn't mean he couldn't just move it out of the way. So, he went to bed, no markers inside. Only a pencil and a piece of paper in case he wakes up and remembers something that he'd write down on the official list later, which was still hidden in Marco's room safely.

When he woke up, Ace was still on the bed, only there was a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, the pencil dangerously close to his eye. He sat up, and exclaimed in horror that he hadn't used the piece of paper, but had ripped one of his maps off of the wall. He was upset, but uncrumpled the paper and turned it over.

It wasn't a map, but some sort of sketch from a high vantage point. There were a ton of tiny people on the ground below, with a huge wall blocking some of what seemed like a bay, which had the Moby Dick and the other sister ships. He got a terrible feeling from it. He dressed and went to plan on telling Marco, as maybe he'd know what it was, or Ace just made it up.

Since he couldn't find Marco inside, he checked outside to see him sitting on Pops shoulder, everyone around deck happy and excited. Ace was the only one who wasn't, and was deeply frowning. He looked once more at the drawing and took a few steps forward before the wind picked up and ripped the drawing out of his hand. "Shit!" he shouted, but it flew away.

The moment it was out of view, it fell out of Ace's mind, and he couldn't remember what he was out there for. He frowned, but shrugged and went inside to help Thatch out with desserts, having moved on from last night's embarrassing teasing.

He helped bake... barely. Thatch didn't allow him to touch any of the appliances or crack any eggs. He just let Ace stir things, and even then Ace either stirred too fast or too slow. He couldn't win, and finally huffed before saying he wasn't any help.

For some reason, he was stressed and anxious today but didn't know why. Maybe he had a bad dream?

"Ace? Are you okay?" he asked, putting the mixing bowl down, looking at Ace in sudden concern. Ace looked down and shrugged. "What's wrong?"

Ace sighed and said, "I don't know. I'm just anxious but I don't know why. I feel bad. It's christmas, everyone is supposed to be happy. And I'm just not feeling it." He didn't want to see Thatch's reaction to Ace being upset on the holiday he'd been touting for weeks. He wanted to be excited, but something was bothering him and he didn't know what.

Thatch pat his back. "Nobody wants you to be upset, but we also don't want you to fake happiness. Why don't you go on a ride on striker? That always makes you feel better, right?" he offered. Ace thought it was a good idea, and said he'd do that. He had to find someone else to help, since Thatch had things in the oven and it would be unsafe for him to leave.

He left the galley and asked the nearest guy he knew alright to help him pull striker out. He passed Deuce, asking if he was going on a ride. Ace nodded, and Deuce's brows furrowed. "What's wrong?" he asked. Ace shrugged.

"I don't know. I just want to try a ride with striker to make me feel better," he replied honestly. Deuce replaced the other guy and both of them lugged Ace's personal craft and got it into the water, Ace dropping down onto it and not hesitating to shoot off. The ship was docked at an island and would be easy to find again. He wasn't going too far.

He closed his eyes as the wind whipped his hair around, enjoying the feeling and sound of shooting through the waves. He took in a deep breath and then opened his eyes. He smiled before that stupid voice came. _Hurts._ Ace was pretty sure he wasn't in pain, and even checked over himself. No pain. _Hurts bad._ What hurt?

"If you're not gonna be useful, go away," Ace said, angling his body to turn around the far side of the island, far from it but it was still visible to him. He spread his arms and breathed deeply. He was more relaxed now. It was a great idea, and he was glad Thatch had offered it. He didn't know if he'd come to that conclusion himself.

After about an hour of circling the island far enough that it was a speck, he went back to the ship to celebrate christmas. Or at least, eat some lunch, feeling much better than he had before. He just pushed the mystery feeling away. If it was helpful, it would be. Otherwise, it could stay away.

He left striker tied to the ship, not wanting to lug it back up and inside if he only went out on another ride. He was in a much better mood, and went to Marco's room to record on his list. There was a screwdriver Marco now kept in the door beneath the lamp so I could unscrew the bottom. He took the little lamp apart and pulled out the paper.

The list was longer than it was in the beginning, with most things being inconsequential. He recorded the sense of an ambush, the unease about that morning, something feeling off, he recorded drawing a map on the floor, and finally wrote down when he heard he was hurting in his head.

By then, all of the commanders knew that Marco gave Ace permission to go into his room, but no one knew why besides Thatch and Marco himself. Pops knew something was up, no doubt, but he didn't press. Ace didn't feel pressure to spill everything to the captain, even if both Marco and Thatch had said he would be open to it.

He put the paper back into place and screwed the bottom of the lamp back on to conceal it. He left Marco's room, turning the light off and closing the door. He didn't like if Stefan got inside, as he'd eaten paperwork before. Only Pops' room was kept open for the old dog.

Ace was in a much better mood the rest of the day, uncomfortable feeling from the morning faded away. Everyone was excited, like little kids high off of sugar. There was a lot of arguing about kissing under mistletoe. Ace watched in disbelief while his brothers insisted that those under the mistletoe _have to kiss,_ or they'd ruin the christmas spirit. Nine times out of ten, the plant was ripped down or burnt. In one case, it was eaten, only until he was told he could get poison. Then he made himself throw up all over the deck, which he then cleaned.

It was a crazy atmosphere. By the time dinner rolled around, they really did not need any more sugar, but of course they had more. Candy, cookies, cupcakes, pie, regular cake, ice cream, pastries.

Ace wasn't even able to try one of everything before he started feeling ill. He did fall asleep halfway through dinner, which was fancy and detailed. Marco just barely caught him from mushing his face into his dinner. He just had Ace lean into his shoulder instead of falling forward or backwards.

Finally, when the presents time came, most people by then were drunk. In Ace's opinion, getting drunk _after_ presents would have made more sense, but he got to enjoy his fully after he'd sworn off alcohol in front of others. Which was pretty much no alcohol whatsoever. Sake wasn't allowed in bedrooms, only parts of the deck and the galley. Which were almost always full of at least a handful of people at times when drinking would be acceptable.

The others thought it was weird, his sudden change to drinking zero booze, and many just couldn't fathom life without alcohol. So when present time came, Ace was surprised to find that nobody opened presents with the person that got them the gift. He had expected pairs would open presents together, but instead they just took their gift when their name was called.

Haruta stood on Pops' knee, calling out names on gifts so the owner would come get them and go someplace to open it. Ace was waiting in the back for his name to be called, and got a box made of dick-shaped patterned wrapping paper (Nice. Real mature).

He was going to sit down when his name was called again. Either everyone was too happy or too drunk because nobody said anything about him getting multiple gifts. He brought the two packages to a circle of people that had most of the commanders, dragging Deuce over with him to sit.

Nobody waited to watch one another open the gifts, they just excitedly tore the paper off. None of it could be salvaged, which Marco was upset about. "You could at least _try_ to open it neatly. Then we wouldn't need to spend so much damn money on wrapping paper each year," he grumbled.

Thatch tore his apart and gasped. Damn, Haruta. He bought Thatch a can of glow in the dark paint. "Brother, you know me so well!" he cried. "And I got you a dead den den mushi!"

"WHAT?! Why!" he demanded, attempting to yank his gift back.

"It reminded me of a kitten so I got it, but it died in my pocket. I thought it looked like a kitten at the time, but I think it was sick and it's body was just rotting. So I tossed it," Thatch explained, laughing his ass off at the story.

"So, you didn't get me anything," Haruta summed it up, voice bland. Thatch looked guilty and shrugged.

He said, "How about I cook you a whole day's worth of your favorite foods and desserts? You know I take Christmas seriously, I don't want you to be sad." Haruta accepted the deal, and Ace listened while he unwrapped his gift, opening the box to find a compact sketchbook and a beautiful fountain pen. He opened the sketchbook and felt the paper. It was nice, thick, and good quality. The pen was feathered and very elegant. Not his style, but pretty nonetheless. The others were opening their own presents, with Ace not paying very much attention to them.

So, Ace moved on to his second present. Thatch and Haruta were watching with grins, and he sighed, not knowing what to expect. He opened it and it was a box with a female doll in it. He raised his brows at them, no idea why he would be given this. He opened it and said, "And why did you buy me a plastic doll?"

"It has a string on the back, pull it," Thatch encouraged. Ace shook his head but pulled the string.

" _Do you want to be my friend?"_ it asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"Maybe you can take lessons from her on how to get along with women," Haruta giggled and Ace scowled at him. He threw it over his shoulder and into the sea. "Hey!" he shouted angrily.

Thatch frowned deeply. "Now you won't have anyone to practice on!"

"Why do I need to get along with women? There aren't any on this crew! Besides, I'm not looking for a relationship, so why does it matter?" he said, miffed at the teasing. It wasn't his fault that he wasn't happy with being interrupted while napping by a bunch of galling females. The others in the group were laughing, and Ace just sighed. He did a lot of sighing when Thatch was around.

By the end of the early morning, wrapping paper and boxes littered the deck. Along with passed out drunks. Ace and Marco were the only ones not drunk. They'd moved the ship away from the island, since they would be knocked out and it would be dangerous to be too close to the island where anyone could easily hop aboard and take advantage of the situation.

Ace and Marco sat in the crowsnest, both drinking hot chocolate while everyone below snored, including Whitebeard's monstrous snores. They matched his size, that was for sure. "Merry christmas, Ace."

"Merry christmas," Ace replied with a smile.

Marco suddenly asked, "How would you like to go on a mission? A small group is going to go on an expedition to a small chunk of land north of the next island. We heard there is some serious treasure there, but there are too many cliffs and such for the Moby Dick to get to, so a smaller boat would be going.

"It would be a small mission to start out. Not much marine activity in the area," Marco explained. "You could be a navigator trainee."

A mission sounded fun. Not just wandering around doing odd jobs or making maps and charts that weren't necessary sounded nice. To actually accomplish something for the good of the crew as a whole.

"Well, I can go by myself, can't I?" Ace wondered. Marco looked confused at what he meant. "Striker can get me anywhere fast and easy. I could just look for the treasure and drag it back or something."

Marco hummed. "Any other time, that would be a good idea. But this is a mission for you and for the treasure. You need some hands on training with working together like this. You were a good captain, but those instincts may have faded with your memory loss. Best to start off easy, right?"

Ace grinned. "I'm a commander, aren't I?" he asked.

"No, you aren't," Marco said with an amused smile.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked, not understanding the reply. He hadn't even realized what he'd said to prompt that response.

Marco gave him a fond look. "Well, you just told me you're a commander. You're not. At least, not now," he said simply. Ace's face turned red. "Don't worry about it. I know you usually do a good job not bringing up your stuff. Everyone slips up sometimes," said Marco.

Ace leaned against the crowsnest more with a sigh. "You wanna know something really stupid?" Ace asked. Marco gave him a curious look. "My dumbass found myself trapped inside my room the other night, and apparently _really_ wanted to draw a map. Woke up to a shitty drawn map all over the floor with a permanent pen." Marco almost spit out his drink in laughter. "Don't worry, me and Thatch scrubbed it off."

"Ah, is that why he stole a rug from Pops' bathroom?" Marco wondered in a lighthearted voice. Ace smiled, nodding and assuming that was what had happened. "Pops was confused, but nobody knew where it went. Haha, that's funny," he said, still chucking. "Your unconscious body is quite determined, isn't it?"

"You can say that again. So, last night I tied my leg to the bed so I couldn't get anywhere far and make a mess. Yeah, laugh all you want. It's not funny on my end."

"Sorry," Marco said, not sounding too sincere, though. "So, do you want to take part in the mission?"

Ace nodded with a smile. "Sounds exciting. I could be like the bodyguard of the boat with striker. Or if there _is_ treasure, the ship might be heavy, so I can share the weight or pull it behind me," Ace suggested.

Marco nodded, taking a drink of his cooling hot chocolate. "That's a good idea. I'll ask Pops about it."

"Just so we're clear, that's my idea."

"I know, I know. I won't take credit for that, I don't need to." He laughed. "Though maybe we won't say it's your idea? We don't want more people calling you perfect, do we?" Ace scoffed and shook his head, slumping a bit more in his seat.

The youngest grumbled, "I wish people would stop that. Just because I'm good at some stuff does not mean I'm even _close_ to being perfect. People just don't know about all the other stuff." He meant both his weird-ness and the underlying problems he'd had since he was a kid, impressionable and sensitive.

Marco nodded. "Nobody is perfect. I don't think there's _anything_ perfect in this world."

"Except Thatch's hot chocolate." Marco laughed, and agreed. It was nice, just to sit in the quiet with Marco and talk about light things. To be honest, that was his favorite part of that year's christmas.


	14. Insecurities Exposed

####  [ChibiChim164](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiChim164/pseuds/ChibiChim164)

**ChibiChim164: indeed it was.**

**Chalmao: Yeah, I didn't know most of the Whitebeard's names until fanfics. I grew attached to Thatch only because of fanfictions since there's not really anything cannon about him. I can't wait for the anime flashback. It's so cute, you have to look forward to it.**

**iMeshls: And I messed it up! I'm sorry.**

**OtakuPie: _-blank space-_ The game has now changed. **

**Orange: I think I kind of skip over Ace's birthday in this one. Be worried, be very worried mwahaha.**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: Possessed zombie drawing lol.**

**Biefa_Less: Yeah, this is the only really fluffy chapter. And the drawing is really important later.**

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**All of my fucking updates are off, I'm sorry about that. Longer chapter. I am 23 today yet I feel like it's March and not October. Covid life throws my sense of time off so bad it's annoying. Anyways, enjoy~**

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"Why does he get to bring striker? Isn't that cheating? Isn't he supposed to prove himself?" Aioba argued with Marco as he and Ace worked to lower striker down while the shipwrights were putting the ship the others would use together.

"Aioba, it's called being resourceful. I'm sure if anyone else could use a craft like Ace can striker, we'd be using that as much as possible. Striker came with Ace, letting him use it isn't playing favorites. Besides, you're not even on this expedition," Marco reasoned. Ace was unbothered, rummaging through his bag to make sure he had everything. He'd grown used to Aioba not liking him. It annoyed him, sure, but it made him feel better when almost every single one of their division disagreed with the man on the subject of Ace.

Thatch was putting nonperishable foods into the crate that would last them their three day journey. Christmas was a week ago, and Ace had been itching to go on a mission ever since Marco had brought it up. True to his word, Marco mentioned to no one that Ace came up with some of the ideas about the mission.

Like being the scout and emergency option if they needed to get out of the area quickly and could have a rope tied to the back of striker. He was fine not taking public credit for the ideas. "Alright, lower it into the water!" Fossa called, and the ship was lowered into the water. It was big and heavy, so they used the metal lowering machine, instead of using rope. Ace dropped down onto striker, repositioning his hat while a rope ladder was lowered for the others to get onto the ship while Ace waited.

Danz was the leader of the mission, one of the higher ups in Jiru's division. Ace, almost immediately, found out that this was incredibly boring, as the ship sailed so slowly compared to the speed of striker at its fastest. But, he didn't show his irritation, just crawled alongside the ship, putting out minimal fire power.

He listened to everything the crew was saying, sailing only a foot away, but instead of making plans or taking part in them, he was ordered to scout a mile ahead before reporting back. On a small ship, they needed adequate time to prepare for an attack by marines or pirates. Ace was perfect for that, and did his task diligently.

The youngest circled the ship at a far distance, not seeing any enemies, but he felt the air change in a sense, and saw movement below the surface of the water, and recognized what it was, and went speeding away as huge pillars of water shot up into the air. Ace grit his teeth and swerved around them, somehow knowing where they'd appear, a different feeling than his possible future seeing.

It was frankly terrifying, but he made it out and back to the ship, soaked and a bit uneasy. "Ace! Oh my god, are you okay?!" Marques asked, the real navigator on the ship. He wasn't very close with Ace, but they weren't enemies or anything.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just glad it didn't hit you guys," Ace said, flaming up to dry himself off. "There are no enemies in a one mile radius, I checked. We're safe for now. I'll keep circling if you want," he said to the leader of the mission.

"If you can, will you continue to scout?"

"Yup," Ace said, and sped back off to do his job, glad to feel helpful and not totally useless. He did come across a marine ship two miles out, where the Whitebeard ship wouldn't be able to see it. To be fair, the marines probably didn't see them either, but best to take them out now before there is any possibility of an attack on the small vessel.

He sped up, and didn't hesitate to slow next to the ship, hearing shouting about his name, but unable to see any of the marines since Ace was so low. He pulled his arm back lighting his fist on fire. "Firefist!" he shouted, obliterating the ship as a massive plume of fire rocketed through the ship, coming out the other side. Marines screamed but the fire consumed everything and soon the only noise was wood crackling that hadn't touched the water yet.

He blew on his finger and felt satisfied, going back to the little ship to tell them what had happened. When he arrived, he found two dead seakings that his brothers had offed, sword marks on them.

Ace turned striker to the side a bit and slowed it, going the same speed as the ship he was now side by side with. "A marine ship was a bit away, but I took care of it."

"Good job, that's really helpful. Will you continue?" Ace nodded, perfectly happy to be on striker and not on the slow and boring ship. He was glad he wasn't in charge of it. _You will be._ Ace mumbled to his mind-voice to shut it. If it was something useless, he didn't want to hear it.

It was only at night time that he finally stopped using striker. The fire would bring attention, and he was told to stop to sleep, since he'd been standing and using his powers almost all day, since they left in the morning.

Ace was more than happy to stop for the day, and they tied his one-person capacity ship to the Whitebeard one, and went to sleep inside of it, in case he had to act quickly. When he woke the next day, he and the nine others ate some food Thatch made that didn't need to be refrigerated. They'd move on to the cans once they ran out of the fresher food.

As he was doing patrol again (though he wished he could get hands-on training with the mission more) he suddenly heard quotes again, which he hadn't heard in a few days, almost a week.

 _I know he may be a hassle, but please take care of my brother._ The feeling of happiness and fondness accompanied with it. He grinned, knowing from that that he'd see Luffy! He wondered when, because there were still a few months before Luffy set out on his own. Ace was happy with this, knowing he'd see his brother again. Maybe not too soon, but he was more than happy with knowing he'd see him.

But he wondered who he was talking to, who he was asking to look over his brother. Maybe his crew? He knew Luffy would gain a crew quickly. He was too likable and charismatic for anyone to say no. At least, that's what he thought. He looked forward to seeing what kind of people he got on his crew.

Most likely a bunch of weirdos, like Luffy was. He laughed at that, feeling uplifted and just relieved that he got some _good_ news instead of upsetting or useless things said in his mind by that voice he couldn't decipher. Was it female or male? How old? Was it a voice at all or just a feeling?

When he returned to the ship, he found they had been attacked! Ace saw that some were injured, and the ship was without a sail with pirates laughing and standing next to the ship. Ace grew furious and sped up, burning through the pirate ship like he had the marines. He had a bad feeling, thinking there might be more pirates around, and before checking if everyone was okay, he tied striker to the front of the boat, speeding off, now wearing a log pose he took from the leader.

After they were a good three miles away from the attacked area, Ace jumped off of striker and landed on the ship, checking over everyone, trying to wake them. One had a broken arm, and Ace didn't know what to do with the guy from the medical division under Curiel being asleep. He knew basic first aid, so he walked inside and broke apart a crate of apples, taking wood and ripping a blanket off the bed to tear pieces off, and make a splint for him.

Ace was not comfortable, being the only one awake who could fight or do anything. Would he be able to protect them all while taking out possible enemy ships? He started to think that they were all gassed before he got there, and that's why they were still unconscious hours later. They weren't dead, thank goodness.

He jumped back onto striker and continued to the island the log pose was pointing to. An hour later, he felt a sleep attack coming, and prayed that nobody would attack while he was asleep. He passed out on the ship, not feeling safe sleeping on striker by himself, with nobody to fish him out if he fell into the water.

The sails were ripped, so he'd work to fix those later. He knew basic stitching from Makino, and they had to have something. When he did wake up, everyone was still asleep, and he sighed. They were all breathing just fine. Another huge problem was that the den den mushi was unconscious as well, and so Ace couldn't call the main ship. He went inside and rummaged through everything, looking for a needle.

He found a syringe in the medical pack, and broke the tip off. There were three other ones, it was fine. He melted one side and turned it into a small hook, taking the same blanket he'd used for the splint, and unraveled it, climbing up the mast and stitching the sails back together. It was a terrible job and was not straight, but it would work fine.

He furled the sails and got back on striker. He sailed them for another two hours before someone woke up. "A-Ace?" he asked, sitting up. Ace jerked around, his fire halting when he jumped onto the ship. "What happened?"

Ace sat and said, "No idea. I came back to report and all of you were unconscious with a pirate ship close by. I took them out, but none of you would wake up and the sails were ripping, so I dragged the ship along with striker."

"Oh no, the sails are ripped?!" he shouted in panic. Ace didn't know this one too much, only that his name was Otashi and he was the medical guy on the ship for this mission.

"Don't worry, I fixed them. You might want to check the guys. One has a broken arm," Ace said, and the pirate got to work quickly, checking over everyone and looking at the broken arm. He said he couldn't make him a cast out here, so the splint was a good idea. He asked Ace how he sewed up the sails, as they had no sewing supplies, even though they should. "I broke off the needle of a syringe and used thread from a blanket. It might not hold very well."

"Well, that's resourceful. How long have you been dragging us?" he asked, checking the heads of the others, making sure they had no head injuries. Ace said he thought he'd been doing it over four hours. He took the logpose off of his wrist and handed it to Otashi to put back on the ship safely. "Thank you, Ace. You're pretty smart, aren't you?"

Ace scowled. "You thought I was stupid?" Otashi put his hands up and backtracked, saying it was just rare to find smart people on a pirate ship. Besides the commanders and captain. Ace started laughing, and the other pirate laughed along with him.

Soon, the others started to wake up, and were briefed by what had transpired. Ace was exhausted, and his sleep attacks never made him actually feel rested. He sat down against the railing of the ship and sighed. He was also starving. "Ace, take a break," Danz ordered, and Ace nodded.

Someone brought him a can of apricots for him to eat, and Ace gladly accepted it. "Take a rest, you look exhausted. Don't worry, we're fine now and can take care of ourselves," the leader assured. Ace nodded and was out like a light.

When he woke up, people were looking over a map, and said they'd veered off course. He stood up in a hurry, and was sure he'd been going in the right direction! He hurried over, and asked what had happened, if he'd messed up.

"Don't worry, we're only slightly off course, so you were mostly going in the right direction," Danz said, still looking over the map. "We can easily fix it, it should only take an hour to get back to where we should be heading." Ace sighed, relieved that he didn't fuck everything over. He offered to go on patrol again, though he was now nervous about leaving them after the pirate attack.

He felt bad for letting them slip in. He'd gone too far in one direction, and that had been a mistake. "Go ahead," he said, and moved back to the map. Ace untied his ship, which was no longer tied to the front, it was at the back. He got onto it and sailed away, vowing to keep a closer radius this time.

-x-

They reached the island the next day, only a little behind schedule. They had contacted the crew when the den den mushi came to after everyone else. They were worried about them, but the small group of pirates assured them that things were fine now, and that the broken arm was not bad enough to get infected. It was pushed back into place with a much sturdier splint. Ace was embarrassed when they were told about his solo time, fixing the sails and getting them out of the area.

To be honest, he did like the praise when it was given, but the aftereffects were annoying, with people getting all pissy if he was successful in anything. He was sad, though, that he hadn't really gotten a chance to work on navigation while he was scouting. It disappointed him, as he was looking forward to that part.

He must have been seen moping, because he was told by Marques that on the way back he could work with him. He'd been in a much better mood after that, and gladly took out two marine ships in the area.

When they reached the island, they stopped the ship in an alcove to hide them. They climbed up a short cliff to get on the island. It had been the only way that was safe. The rocks and reefs stretched far from the island and into the sea, so the Moby Dick wouldn't have been able to get even close. Marco could fly, but he wouldn't be able to carry enough himself, if there really was a lot of treasure here.

Ace, again, volunteered to go ahead, since he was safest, being immune to most attacks. The leader reluctantly agreed, and Ace quietly went off into the forest, looking and listening for anything suspicious. He didn't see anything, but there were suspicious looking plants. He walked around a large bush before it snapped at him and a small prick was made from it on his leg. He swore and burnt the plant.

He looked at his leg, and saw there was no marking, or blood. Maybe it hadn't broken the skin. For once he hated his shorts. Ace huffed and continued his walk, coming across multiple animals that ran away from him. He didn't know why, but it was convenient so he wouldn't question it too much.

Once he found the island seemed pretty harmless if they avoided the sketchy plants, he headed back to the group. "There's nobody on the island besides some animals. Avoid the creepy looking plants, one almost stung me."

They all went searching for the treasure, before they found a cave that they ventured into, Ace's fire lighting up the dark cave. They walked in for about five minutes, the cave being pretty deep, before there was a reflection in the distance from Ace's fire. They ran up to it to find three, huge chests. They needed keys, but they were old, so hitting them with a hilt of a sword broke it open.

One was empty, while the other two did have treasure in them. "Oh my god, most of these are diamonds," Danz said, digging his hands through the diamonds. The other chest had paper money packed inside.

"I wonder why one of them was empty?" Ace said.

"Maybe whoever got it couldn't take along the other two," Otashi commented. "Anyways, should we take these back now?"

Ace said, "Are we camping here tonight?" The leader nodded. "Then should we leave them in here until we leave for good? Someone is more likely to steal them if they're on our ship," the youngest suggested. The others agreed that it was a good idea, and got some branches and rocks to hide the chests behind.

They went hunting for food, and Ace roasted the meat on sticks that they ate that night, finding fresh water, which Ace boiled in cans to make the water safer to drink. His fruit really was helpful for many things. And his brothers commented on it. "Probably more useful than anyone else's on the crew. Well, Marco's is helpful for himself." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Deuce said I ate it by accident. I don't remember eating it," Ace said around the meat he was chewing. "But it's nice to keep me warm and I can cook wherever," he added. They all nodded, and went to bed once the suk was done. They'd be leaving early in the morning after taking the chests back to the ship.

-x-

Ace itched his leg irritably, the area near where he'd been stung feeling itchy as hell. It didn't hurt, and it didn't look like anything was there, so he started to think it was just his brain thinking that it was itchy when it wasn't. He was on striker, and pulled the ship out of the reefs and rocks, since it was harder to get out than it was to get in.

The treasure chests had been very heavy, even the one full of money. They were idiots because they only found afterwards that the chest had rocks stuffed in the bottom, making it heavier. But, they were there, and sailing was smooth. It was a nice, short mission, and Ace was allowed to help with navigation instead of patrolling the whole time.

He was happy to be quizzed about the phenomena that came. Like the sudden storms or other weird occurrences that wouldn't make sense anywhere other than the New World. Ace wondered what Luffy would think of them. After hearing that snippet of conversation, he looked forward to seeing him so much. Everything had just been so distracting and stressful that he didn't think about Luffy's soon departure much.

When Ace woke up the next morning, his leg was burning, which was a pretty unfamiliar feeling now that he was made of fire. He pulled up his short leg, since it was just barely above the cut off, and saw what he thought was a non-existent sting was yellow. It looked disgusting. He stood up, but putting weight on that leg was painful.

"Fucking hell," he cursed. Everyone was asleep, and he didn't want to wake them, but he had to. They'd be angry if he hid it. He should have been more observant on that island. He shook Otashi awake, lighting the room with his fire, since it was dark outside and the lights were off inside as the others slept besides Rual, who Ace had barely noticed the whole time since he was so quiet.

"What is it?" the pseudo-doctor asked with a yawn.

"I think I have an infected wound. From that plant I thought didn't puncture the skin," Ace whispered. Otashi didn't wait to turn on the nearest lamp, sternly telling Ace to show him his leg. Ace lifted his leg into the light, and Otashi grit his teeth. "What, what is it?" Ace asked nervously.

"It is pretty infected. I need to clean it," he said, and got his bag to pull out rubbing alcohol. "Where does it hurt?" Ace said that his whole leg hurt while putting pressure on it and that it itched. "Do not itch it, you might make it worse. I'm going to bandage it after I put some cream on it," he explained. He pulled out a pill bottle from the bag after dressing the wound. "Take these, they'll help with the swelling." He put two red pills in Ace's hand.

"Okay," Ace said, brows furrowed in worry. Otashi stood and clapped his hands.

"Everybody up! We're leaving now!" Some pillows were thrown at his head, mumbles of "fuck off" or "five more minutes" were heard. "Ace is injured, we need to get back to the Moby as soon as possible," he explained, turning on the lights. They others jerked upright, demanding to know what had happened while three others went outside and rose the anchor before unfurling the sails and starting to move, even though it was the middle of the night and dangerous to sail at night.

Ace awkwardly said, "That plant did break the skin. My leg hurts a bit but that's it, you don't need to worry." Ace was pissed his predictions or whatever they were did _not_ warn him of this, something pretty damn important! But he didn't show his anger and irritation.

Otashi scolded him to not hide his pain or he'd tell Marco. That was a successful threat, since Marco would be pissed if Ace lied about it. Ace frowned deeply when he was told he wasn't allowed to use striker until they got him back to the Moby Dick. When he protested, he was asked, "What if your leg hurts so much it gives out, and you fall on striker? Not only might you fall into the ocean and drown alone, but you might not even be able to make it back to the ship."

Ace had no response, and Danz ordered him to stay on the ship. "It's not like we've never done this without something like striker. We'll be fine with you out of commission. No more objections, it's my order as leader." Ace pouted for the rest of the day, trying not to think about the burning and itching of his leg.

They'd be getting back to the Moby soon where Ace could get real medical attention and be mocked or coddled by a bunch of different people. Hopefully it would go away before that, but looking at the sting or bite made him think that probably wasn't the case. It was getting redder and started to ooze liquid that Ace did _not_ want to call pus.

He went out on deck, limping heavily, to ask Otashi for more pain medicine before he fell face first onto the deck. Everyone thought he had a sleep attack before he started to shake. "Ace!" he said, and ran to him and turned him over to show he was foaming at the mouth with his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Call the Moby and get Marco, now!" Danz shouted as everyone seemed to lose composure and ran around, all freaking out but three. Marques got on the den den and Ace stopped seizing but was still asleep. He was carried back to one of the beds.

" _Hey, are you guys near?"_

"Marco you have to come get Ace! He's sick and needs medical attention now!" Danz shouted, taking the den den from the other's hand.

Thatch was heard asking what happened, if Ace was okay, loudly freaking out. "He got stung by some plant and now it's infected and he just had a seizure!" Marco said he was coming immediately and he'd find them soon. Thatch shouted once more on the other side before it disconnected.

Ace woke up only around half an hour after his seizure. He felt sick still, and couldn't really feel his leg. Why was he affected by a sting in the first place? Why didn't his fire work on it? Why couldn't he burn it out or something?

Otashi was quick when Ace turned the side and vomited everything in his stomach out. "Ugghh… wha' happin'?" he asked, slurring his speech.

"You had a seizure, Ace. I don't want you to move, okay?" But Ace started panicking and freaking out, Otashi trying to calm him down, but it wasn't working. "Ace, stop moving, now," he commanded. "Marco is on his way to pick you up. He should be here soon, we aren't too far from the ship, he'll be able to find us."

Ace put his hands over his eyes. "Noooo, everyone will m'k fun of meee," he lamented. Otashi frowned deeply, probably feeling sorry for Ace.

"They won't make fun of you, Ace. Maybe this will make your critics realize you're just a person, not some perfect being." Ace then whined that they'd call him weak. The doctor put his hand on Ace's forehead. "Don't worry, Ace. All of us have gotten sick before. Even the commanders. Jozu once caught a disease and we had to quarantine half the ship."

Ace moved his hands from his face, but was still upset and worried. "They'll b'by me. Thash wll b'by me. Embarrassing," he complained. He was not very optimistic at the moment. He knew, even with his brain foggy right now, Thatch would baby him, probably cry a lot. He'll be seen as a burden by the people that didn't like him. Maybe they'd try to convince everyone else that he was weak.

He wasn't looking forward to going back to the Moby Dick one bit. "M' fine here. I'll be okay," Ace said, trying to sit up. Otashi gently pushed him back down, and gave him a stern look. He said he couldn't treat Ace's wound here, and that it might get worse if he doesn't get real treatment. Ace was still belligerent, not wanting to go back like this.

All of the good stuff he'd done on the mission, the smart choices would be overshadowed by this. He eventually fell asleep, breathing raggedly when Marco arrived three hours later. He hurried inside to see Ace unconscious, his leg swollen under the fresh bandages. He was sweating heavily, and Marco didn't hesitate to have people tie him to his back. It would be more comfortable than hanging in Marco's talons.

When he woke up, Ace weakly fought back, too delirious to realize they were trying to help him. "N't go back!" he said, weakly pushing Marco away, swaying side to side. Marco was trying to calm him, but Ace kept insisting he didn't want to go back.

"Ace, I'm taking you home! You'll be safe!" Marco shouted, trying to get through to him.

"Mean!" Ace protested. Marco said he wasn't mean by trying to help him. Otashi explained, "He means the others will be mean, think he's weak or a burden. That's why he doesn't want to go back."

Marco's face fell, and he looked at Ace in sadness and pity. "It doesn't change anything, we still need to get him back to the ship. Otashi, do you have any sedative?" Marco asked, trying to keep Ace off of his bad leg as he tried to run away. He was so out of it he couldn't think straight.

"Yes, yeah, hang on," the doctor said, and not long later Ace was asleep. They tied his pliant body to Marco's back when he turned into full phoenix form, and hoping that Ace wouldn't wake up and freak out. Marco told them he'd see them later, and to get back safely.

Ace didn't wake up on the fly back, but Marco could feel wetness coming from Ace's hurt leg. Probably pus. Hopefully not blood. When Ace did wake up, it was in Marco's arms as he hurried to the infirmary. "Whyyy? Why you do th's to mee?" Ace whined.

Marco looked down, and said, "To get you help, Ace. You're family, we're going to help you. Calm down, don't struggle. You can't do anything to get away from here now. Just comply and let the nurses help you," he insisted. Ace slurred another protest but was too weak or tired to fight back.

His face was red and sweaty, his leg red and swollen, crusty as well. He looked the epitome of sick. Thatch was crying, and Ace knew that would happen. Many looked very worried. No one was smiling or laughing at him. When Marco brought him to the infirmary, the nurses were already prepared, gloved and gowns on.

He laid Ace on the bed, who tried rolling over. "Ace, stay on your back," Whiskey said.

"Why I not see this? See efything else," Ace lamented. The nurses thought he was delirious, so they didn't take his words too seriously. Tami peeled the wrappings off, finding the wound looked incredibly infected. To Ace's irritation, his mouth was opened and tongue held. Marco was biting his thumb nail, Whitebeard standing beside him. The other commanders were not allowed in or Ace might get overwhelmed in this state.

Whiskey sighed, wearing a smile. "He'll be okay. I recognize this, we have medicine for it." She hurried off to get the IV and slowly entered it into Ace's elbow. Marco stood at the side, ready to force him to stay down. But he'd fallen asleep, hair sticking to his face with sweat. He stayed unconscious for a couple hours, far longer than it took for all of the bag to enter his bloodstream.

He woke up, feeling much better while also being able to feel his leg. He still didn't feel good, but he could think straight. He pulled the oxygen mask off and accidentally knocked it onto the floor with a clatter. Marco and Thatch noticed and were there in an instant.

Ace couldn't remember what happened after he had the seizure. When did they get back to the Moby Dick? Was he better, now? He tried sitting up, but Marco gently pushed him down and then raised one end of the bed so he was sitting up more. "What happened?"

Thatch started crying, and Marco told him to stop, that Ace was fine and to not make him more upset. Upset? Why would Ace be upset? What happened?!

Finally someone answered him. Marco explained, "You were stung by a poisonous plant, and got very sick, so I picked you up and brought you here. You've been treated. We had the antidote for the poison from the plant. You're safe and won't have any lasting side effects. Your leg will need to be still. You can't walk yet, you need another day of bed rest to be fully better."

Ace frowned and put his hands to his eyes. "Damn it," he mumbled. "I'm sorry."

Thatch said, in a strong voice, "There's nothing to apologize for, Ace. Nobody knew about the plants on that island. You got sick at the end, but everyone said you were very helpful the rest of the time. It wasn't a failed mission, Ace, even if you did fall ill at the end." Ace still was unhappy, and not making eye contact.

"It's so stupid. I see and hear stupid stuff that isn't helpful, but I didn't know about this happening? What the hell is the point of all of this if it can't even help me?" Ace grumbled. "I feel so weak and embarrassed… How many people saw me? When I was really sick?"

Marco looked wary of answering, so just by that Ace knew what had happened. A lot of people, maybe everyone, had seen Ace deliriously sick. "A lot of people. A lot of people saw, but luckily you weren't struggling anymore." Ace looked confused, asking why he had struggled. "You really didn't want to come back. We had to sedate you to bring you back."

Ace frowned, not understanding why he didn't want to come back. Well, he knew one reason, but he had to be treated regardless. "You didn't want anyone here to think you are weak. That's why you were refusing to come back and we had to take more aggressive measures." Ace looked away, face bright red in humiliation.

The youngest looked at his hands, which were in fists now, clenching the sheets over him. His leg was up on a pillow, elevated just enough for it to tilt upwards. "You're not weak, Ace," Thatch said in a strong voice.

"You're a commander. You don't know what it's like to hear whispers of people insulting you just for being good at something," he said sharply, face red again in embarrassment. "People say it all the time. 'Ace is so perfect, I hope he fails at something. Ace is stupid, why does he get privlidegs? Why does Ace get praised, I do smart stuff all the time. Commanders just like him cause he's friends with Thatch.'" Ace glared at his two friends, who looked down in sadness, probably pity.

Thatch quietly asked, "Why haven't you said anything about this?" He was frowning deeply.

"It will only make it worse. I'll be a tattle who can't deal with problems by myself," Ace mumbled back, avoiding eye contact. "I try already. It never helps. I hide my maps in another room, I still get insulted about it. I try to avoid anybody who doesn't like me. I still hear them even if I try to stay away. I'm stupid. And a freak who couldn't even remember the names and faces of my own crew."

Marco sat on the edge of the bed, and wiped away a tear on Ace's cheek. "You're not stupid, you're incredibly smart and resourceful. And responsible, more responsible than most on this crew. You fought off pirates and got your group to safety, treating a broken arm and sewing up the sails with a syringe needle and blanket. And it's not your fault you forgot, Ace."

"Great, another thing to make me 'perfect'," Ace mumbled back. He couldn't understand why he'd ever be made commander if he was insulted by so many people. Surely they would get backlash for naming someone so "controversial" commander. There was nothing about Ace that made him deserve that position.

Thatch took Ace's hand, which was still in a ball, and rubbed his knuckle with his thumb, trying to make him feel better, or at least less tense. "Ace, most of this crew adores you. That minority that doesn't like you… that's the _minority._ They just might be more vocal about it than those who like you."

Ace didn't reply, didn't look at either of them. "I don't want to talk about it anymore," he said stiffly. He was glad when neither of his brothers insisted they keep doing so. So, they switched topics, asking him what he thought of the mission _there._ "It was fine. I wish I had gotten to do more navigating instead of scouting," he said honestly, glad to change topics. "The people in the group were nice, seemed to like me alright."

Thatch grinned and Marco said, "Well, it was your idea."

"I know, but still. And… the room smelled terrible. I'm so glad I don't have to share with a bunch of other guys. At one point it smelled like someone shit their pants in their sleep or something," he complained. Bunking with multiple other dudes who hadn't showered so they conserved water was awful. "I'm almost glad I sleepwalk so I don't have to deal with that."

Thatch and Marco started laughing. "We've both dealt with that before our commander days. Having our own rooms was a life saver, and I realized that it wasn't just the bedrooms that smelled like that. Like, that they had poor ventilation or something. It was the people inside the room," Thatch said loudly. Marco nodded in agreement.

They talked about more lighthearted stuff that almost pushed Ace's worry out of his head. But it was still there, worrying that he'd be teased, mocked or underestimated.


	15. A Sudden and Unexplained Anger

**chalmao: Thanks! Yeah, I felt bad for canon Ace. Even when he was happy he was still carrying the insecurities and self-hatred around with him. poor baby**

**Biefa_Less: Thank you! I got some advanced posing figures that you can manipulate and use as art references since I like to draw. I love making Thatch the sweetest one.**

**Orange: lol, yeah. He is the sun.**

**Otaku_Girl2167: I've got that bad, too. I love making characters suffer. Mostly Ace nowadays. Like when I make him cough up blood and die over and over. In some of my other stories. *dark lol***

**OtakuPie: Thank you! And I can't make thumbs up emojis on my computer. So how about </3 Broken hearts!**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: Ace has his happy moments, but the majority is sad things. But there ARE appy things! I promise!**

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**Something important happens in this chapter! Enjoy~**

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Ace sat in the desk he was allowed to use, trying to make a map of the island just based on memory alone. He knew it wouldn't be accurate, but he just wanted to see how it turned out. He finally realized he'd run out of ink when a stroke went dry and he moved to refill the pen with ink. He looked inside of the bottle seeing it was empty.

He sighed and stood up, walking to the supply room. They were stocked up on ink because they'd been on a great deal at the last island they visited. It had been two weeks since the mission-went-nightmare for Ace. He assumed one of the commanders said something because nobody insulted him about being wounded.

Marco had told him they hadn't said a thing, but Ace didn't really believe them. He didn't voice his disbelief, just wanting to get off of the topic and try to move on. The group he'd gone with had all been really worried when they finally arrived with striker safe and sound, but Ace had shown them he was fine. Though he didn't look fine when they arrived and rushed to see him.

He had been pale, still, and his leg was raised, covered in bandages. He looked better than he had when they last saw them, though. They were all really nice to him afterwards, and Ace thought he may have made friends. Well, everyone was brothers, but he considered some as friends. His close brothers.

Luffy and Sabo were _brothers._ Always would be his original brothers, so it was hard sometimes to apply that same word to others. He thought of the word friend more than not. But he didn't say that, not wanting to upset anybody. They were all family, regardless of whether Ace saw them as _brother_ brothers.

He capped the ink bottle and was going to bring it to the room so it could be refilled later, and took out a fresh ink bottle from the crate. There were hundreds and hundreds of them in there, and Ace almost thought it was ridiculous just how much they'd gotten. Had they all run out at the same time? He didn't question it, though, and was more than willing to help lug the crates onto the ship and into the supply room that wasn't for big things or food.

He took one out and put the lid of the crate back on before he was overcome with sudden rage. _How dare he. We - I - trusted him!_ and the ink bottle shattered in his hand, the noise knocking him out of his thought. He felt his face was hot and his eyes were narrowed, mouth in a deep scowl.

Then the feeling went away as quickly as it had come, and he was left feeling incredibly uneasy. For more than one reason. First, the context of the thought that he didn't know. Who had he trusted that he no longer did? What did this person do? It was a man, that much was clear, but there were only 1600 of them. So who was it? Or was it anyone on the crew?

Then there was the other thing that worried him. Usually snippets of thought or dialogue came and passed, leaving him a bit confused and irritated. Right then, he had felt murderous rage. If someone had been around, he wouldn't have been shocked if he just attacked them. He had never been so angry. _Never,_ even when he learned of Sabo's murder.

It was alarming to say the least. He sighed at the wasted bottle of ink, and went to the nearest bathroom to wash his hands of it and then mop up the mess. He had some on his arm and chest as well, since the thing practically exploded in his hand. At least he hadn't melted it, too.

"What happened?" Haruta asked when he passed Ace, who had a grumpy face and a wet rag.

"Broke a bottle of ink. Made me angry," Ace lied. He wouldn't say anything to anyone about this time. He didn't know who the voice had been talking about, and didn't want to plant unnecessary seeds of doubt in his brothers towards their family. Ace could only hope it wasn't one of their own who had made him so furious.

And it wasn't just angry, it was hurt and betrayed. Something personal. "No need to be so pissy," Haruta said with a shrug, and went on his merry way. Ace went to the room and wiped up the mess. He threw the broken glass in the trashcan used when they unwrap something in there, like anything with paper or plastic packaged around it. It wasn't usually meant for glass, but it didn't matter much. It was trash, and that was a trash can.

He knew he couldn't focus on making a map now, which usually let his mind wander. He wanted to be distracted by something, wanted to not think of that haunting snippet of thought from somewhere. Future or not, he wasn't hoping that whatever caused that reaction happened anytime soon. Or at all.

He headed outside for some fresh air, but that's not what he got. The moment he walked out of the ship, a storm was right on top of them. Ace sighed, but got to work with the others for furling the sails, and tied himself to the deck so he didn't fall off. The ship was swerving from side to side in the especially violent storm.

He clung to the rope wrapped around his waist as he fought to see through the rain pelting down on them, loud enough to mute any conversation or shouting. Ace was watching the mess that were people frantically trying to run inside or tie themselves down.

Ace saw three people slip and slide to one side, and without thinking, he burnt his rope off and ran forward, skidding on the wood and grabbing onto a hand, the only one who'd fallen over the edge. He couldn't tell who it was in the wind and rain, but now both of them were hanging over the side, Ace's hands gripping the railing as he struggled to hold on in the violent waves.

He used all of his strength to lift the other up with his arm while the other held onto the wood so tightly it started to creak. Ace was able to get the other guy's hand over the side, who pulled themselves up. Ace struggled to raise himself, but when the ship violently rocked to the other side, he was thrown onto the deck, stumbling to the ratlines and wrapping his arms and legs in the ropes, holding on as tight as possible while they rode out the storm.

There was nothing to do but wait for it to pass. The sails were furled, all they had to do was last until it dissipated. Ace was soaked to the bone, hair plastered to his forehead, keeping his eyes closed so the rain didn't get in them. But the storm did pass, like they always did. Ace didn't know who he saved, but he was exhausted and just walked inside.

He walked to his room, feeling a sleep attack coming, and just barely made it to the bed before passing out. When he got up, his arm was sore and he tried stretching it before heating himself up to dry his clothes and sheets. He hadn't even dried off before passing out. He changed socks, drying out his boots, which were full of water.

When he left the room, he was nice, warm and dry. And tired, but he just had a nap. He would be fine the rest of the day, his body was just sore from the storm throwing him around a bit. He went to the galley for a snack and found Thatch sitting on the floor of the kitchen with his head between his legs, the picture of depressed.

Ace hurried over, and asked what was wrong. Thatch looked up with tears in his eyes, and Ace was very concerned, until he held up a bent metal spoon. "My favorite spoon broke!" he cried. Ace blinked twice and took the spoon from him. It was fancy, ridiculously so. He heated up his hand as hot as he could, and then easily bent it back into place while it was more pliant from the heat.

He walked to the sink and poured water over it. "Here you go," Ace said.

"Ace! I love you!" Thatch cried, taking his spoon, so overdramatically. Ace just shook his head. "Get out of my kitchen."

"Oh, come on! I saved your spoon, let me get something from the fridge," Ace said in irritation. Thatch shook his head, and asked what Ace wanted. That was the point of looking for food. He didn't know what he wanted but he was hungry. "I don't know, I wanted to browse."

Thatch looked at him in an unimpressed way, making the teen bristle a bit. He was twenty now, the New Years party had been ruined by some massive birds stealing the entire grill, which they had to replace two islands later. It had been an interesting party, at least. "Well, since you saved my spoon, do you want the last piece of pumpkin pie?" Ace brightened at that and accepted.

He was just putting on a heaping amount of whip cream on it before Aioba came up and sat next to him. Ace sighed. "What did I do this time?" he said. Aioba had been ruthless to him after he got sick weeks ago. Luckily, his bad attitude hadn't spread too bad. Ace had been wrong, since nobody made fun of him for being sick besides a handful. The enemy-navigator looked uncomfortable. Thatch watched with interest.

"I want to thank you, for saving me," he said quietly.

"Hah?" Ace asked, not knowing what he was talking about.

"You saved me from falling over the side of the ship. I wanted to thank you." Ace looked away and said, in a stiff voice, "I would have done it for anyone." He was way past any chance of making friends with him. Months in and he had still been a complete asshole for pretty much no reason. Ace didn't threaten his position, yet he was a total prick.

He didn't say another word before awkwardly leaving. Ace dug into his pie. "Man that was hard to watch," Thatch said with a whistle.

"Everything with him is hard," Ace replied as he stuffed his mouth with perfectly baked pie. "We're way past ever being friends."

Thatch nodded, saying that it was understandable. Aioba had gone after Ace so many times he'd lost count. And commanders just had stopped scolding him. He wasn't going to stop, and Ace told them to not do it anymore. It just brought attention to what he thought of Ace, and it was easiest to ignore him.

"But it was nice of you to save him," Thatch added. Ace swallowed his mouthful and replied.

"I didn't know it was him. It was crazy outside, and I just saw a body falling over the side. Honestly, I probably would not have saved him if I knew it was him. I know that sounds bad, really bad. But I know deep down I would have purposely looked away or had someone else save him." He felt and looked guilty. Thatch was silent, so he thought he might be in trouble. It was hard to remember sometimes that his closest brother was also a superior.

Thatch rested his elbow on the counter with his chin in his hand. "I don't think that's true. I think you would have saved him even if you knew it was him. You're too kind to let somebody from this ship die just cause you hate them."

Ace chuckled. "You think too highly of me. I'm not a saint or anything."

"Nah, but you're a good person," Thatch replied simply. Ace shrugged. He didn't feel like a good person all the time. He had angry thoughts at people, he just never voiced them, even when talking privately to Thatch or Marco. "Maybe he'll leave you alone, now," Thatch suggested.

Ace took one last bite of the pie that he'd consumed in record time and said, "Maybe. That would be nice. I don't want to be friends with him, but not being enemies might be nice." Thatch nodded in agreement.

The youngest was silent for a few minutes, knowing whatever had made him so angry had not been Aioba. He wouldn't have been angry or upset over him breaking trust he didn't have with Ace. It was someone else. But he shook his head, not wanting to think about that. He couldn't tell Pops about it because he didn't know.

Ace sat with Pops often, enjoying the stories he told from experience or perhaps made up, Ace wasn't sure all of the time. But, he never shared any of the weird things that went on with his brain. All of it. Oh, he had to record what happened. "I'll be back, I gotta do something real quick," Ace said, and walked out, hands in his pockets as he headed to Marco's bedroom.

The door was closed, like always, and he opened it only to find Marco was asleep in the bed. Which was weird, since it wasn't early at all. Ace stood still at the doorway. Would it be inappropriate to walk in while he was asleep? He decided that it would be, and chose to write down what had happened later. It wasn't exactly going to be hard to forget.

So, he left the room before he got a bad feeling, of a whimpering noise, and he immediately ran to Whitebeard's room to see Stefan choking on something. He kneeled in front of him and found a very long piece of string down his throat. Ace turned the struggling dog on his side and slowly pulled the string out.

"Don't worry, old guy. You'll be okay. Then we can go see Pops," Ace said as the string finally was all the way out. He was shocked at the size of it. He found that part of the rug had been torn, and the seams had been ripped up. "What were you doing, eating this?" Ace mumbled, before he walked to the back window and opened it, dropping the string out.

Stefan was still upset, but once he realized he was okay, he ran for Ace. Ace picked him up. "Told you you'd be okay," Ace said. "You're lucky I knew about it," Ace said, feeling light inside. He might have just saved Stefan's life.

Then he dropped the dog on the bed and clutched his head, unable to stop the scream. He fell to his knees, the sharp and painful sensation in his head feeling unbearable. Stefan was barking loudly, worried about Ace. Then Marco was there.

"Ace, Ace what's wrong?" Marco asked, kneeling next to Ace on Pops' carpet and putting his hand on Ace's back. The younger whimpered again. "Shh, it'll pass. Stefan, down." The pain eventually passed, and Ace took a deep breath. "Are you okay?"

Ace nodded. "Stefan was going to die. I saved him and it changed the course, so it hurt my head," Ace explained. Marco looked baffled. "He was choking on a piece of string from the ripped up carpet. Stupid old dog." Marco put his hand on Stefan's head, looking at him.

Marco hugged Ace. "Thank you," he said sincerely. Ace patted his shoulder in response. Said he wasn't going to let their dog die if he could do something about it. He was smiling, and sighed.

"Finally, it was something useful for me," Ace said with a smile in his voice. Stefan ran over and jumped into Ace's lap, nuzzling his arm. "No more eating things that could kill you," he said sternly. Then, Stefan ran to the carpet and started gnawing on it again. Marco laughed and Ace sighed, shaking his head.

Marco picked Stefan up and Ace rolled up the carpet. "What should we do with it?" Ace asked. It was heavy and large, and clearly old. Ace wondered why the dog hadn't choked on it before. Marco suggested they use it for another room. Stefan mostly stayed in Pops' room, so if they put it somewhere else, it might be safer for him. They agreed to ask Pops what to do with it, explain the situation. "If anyone asks, I heard him from the hall." It was partly true. Before they left Pops' room, Marco stopped Ace, asking how he knew. "I heard a dog's whimpering in my head. It's lucky I was so damn close. Before we go, can I write my stuff down?"

"Of course," Marco replied, and the two walked to his room. Ace unscrewed the lamp and wrote down his angry moment and then saving Stefan. The sheet was full on the front and he had started to list things on the back of the paper as well. Once that was done and the paper hidden once more, they headed out onto deck.

When they got out, Stefan ran to Pops, jumping on his leg but too old and small to leap all the way onto his lap. Ace and Marco walked over after the dog, who was excited and then left Pops to run to Ace. "What's gotten into him?" Whitebeard wondered with a fond smile. Ace knew they would have been heartbroken if Stefan had died alone in the bedroom. Ace suddenly felt very sad.

"He has a new lease on life, so I guess he's happy about that," Marco said. Before Pops could ask what he was talking about, he explained, "Ace found Stefan choking on a string and pulled it out." Whitebeard looked shocked.

"He chewed off a piece of the carpet," Ace said, feeling awkward under the stare of the man, who then grinned.

"Thank you, son. I can't imagine what would have happened if he passed by himself," he said with a relieved sigh. Ace's face was red, and he nodded. He asked what they should do with the carpet. "Not use it again. If this old fool is dumb enough to eat it once, he can do it again." Then he asked curiously why Ace was in his room.

The youngest, now holding the excited dog, explained, "I was looking for Marco, but he was asleep in his bed, so I left and then I heard him choking in your room. So I got the string out. It was almost as long as my forearm." Whitebeard was smiling at him warmly, proudly.

"Looks like you're saving people right and left today," Whitebeard said with a laugh, deep and happy. Ace turned red and looked down at the dog, who was squirming in his arms, so the young adult put him down. Ace was no longer a teenager, after all. Nobody could call him that anymore.

The rest of the day was awkward for him. More pirates knew about Ace saving the dog than Aioba. Ace would have thought that was funny any other day, but now he was just irritated. He was hiding in the library, but hiding wasn't being made easy with the dog that kept trailing him. All day long, Stefan was on his heels. And if he closed a door on the dog, he cried and howled and barked until Ace let him in.

He tried taking a shower, and the bathhouse door closed. So, to stop the dog causing trouble with how noisy he was, Ace had left the shower and opened the door before running back to the shower where no one could have the chance to see.

Ace had been on this ship for months and yet still was uncomfortable around the others being naked. They, of course, thought it was funny, but respected him and covered if he was walking through the bathhouse. It was considerate, and Ace was glad they did that.

At dinner, he was horrified when Thatch had made him a huge cake, bringing so much attention to him. When he saw the cake with a Stefan-shaped frosting mess on it, Ace turned right around and left the room before anyone noticed. He didn't go to dinner that night, just hid in the office he was still using.

Marco came in, finding Ace making that map he was interrupted with earlier. "Hey, Ace."

"Hi," Ace replied, putting the pen down. "Did you need something?"

"If you don't like the attention, you can always ask people to stop, you know. Nobody wants to make you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed," Marco said, getting straight to the point. Ace looked away. He knew that wasn't true, they loved to make him embarrassed. He hated the attention because when he had people watching him then it was more likely they'd see him slip up. What if someone had seen him break the ink bottle earlier? That had bothered him. He hadn't been able to control his emotions.

Ace sighed, and said, "You know that's not true. They love embarrassing me." Marco walked closer and leaned against the desk.

"If it really bothers you, they won't want to do it. If they think it's just playful, joking around, then they definitely will," Marco replied. Then he asked, "Are you alright? You seemed stressed today." Ace really needed to confide in someone about his worries that morning. He knew Thatch would be more hurt and worried if he told him. Marco would probably be calm.

Of course he'd tell Thatch, but after Marco gave him advice on how to handle it. He didn't tell Deuce anymore. He… he really liked Deuce, but it felt off to be around him a lot. Like his life he'd forgotten constantly clashed against his new life and persona. He had felt guilty at first, but Deuce made him even more guilty when he told him he understood why Ace distanced himself. And that he'd always be there if he needed him.

"I lost control this morning. I ran out of ink for the map, so I went to get a new bottle, and suddenly I was so _angry._ I've never been so angry in my life. Ever, and I crushed the bottle of ink in my hand. If that had happened in front of other people…" Ace said quietly. Marco looked concerned.

Predictably, he asked what he heard. "I don't want to say," Ace said. Marco looked surprised, since Ace had been honest about all of his odd occurrences before. So this meant it was something bad. He was clearly really wanting to know what upset Ace.

"I can tell this is already eating you alive, Ace," he said simply, brows furrowed in worry. Ace looked down, contemplating telling him. He was right, Ace was ready to burst, needing to tell someone, have someone to confide in, reassure him. He didn't know what could make him feel better about it. He didn't know what Marco could say to make him feel better.

"... I think it was 'how dare he. We - I - trusted him'. And it was my voice, spitting it out in such a furious tone. Something bad happened some time, I don't know when, where or who I was talking about. It worries me," he explained quietly.

Marco put his hand on Ace's shoulder. "You cannot force yourself to see something, Ace. Do not dwell on this. Don't lose your trust in our family."

Ace frowned. "You didn't hear how upset I was. Someone betrayed our trust," he said. Marco asked if he could do something about it now. "Well, no, but still."

"Please, try to not let it bother you. I know what it feels like to obsess over the future, what might be a terrible future. Don't dwell on what you have no way to control. It will only tear you apart with fear and worry. That is the best advice I can offer you, Ace," Marco said emphatically. Ace looked at him, eyes flicked back and forth for both of Marco's. His expression obviously gave away his next question. "Pops' age. It terrifies me."

"Oh," Ace said, feeling bad now. He never really thought about it.

Marco smiled. "The worry has helped me in the long run. I live life day to day, enjoying it as best as I can. When Pops turned 70, I was so stressed that I managed making myself ill. After that, I shrugged off worry as best as I could while still being responsible and sensible. There is a middle ground, and you're smart and capable. I have no doubt you can find that middle ground as well," he said with a reassuring look. "I have faith in you."

Ace turned red and looked away, making Marco chuckle. "The cake is gone, you can come eat now if you want," the first mate said. Ace nodded, his stomach growling right on cue. He went to eat with Marco, feeling slightly better than he had before.


	16. Another Discovers The Secret

**Orange: That wasn't the climax, the climax is in a future chapter. It was just an important plot point for later.**

**Biefa_Less: I love writing Ace and Marco. Even when it's not romance. Though in a couple of my stories, Marco done fucked up.**

**chalmao: I can kill of baby Luffy, but never an animal lol.**

**OtakuPie: How about a squishy and deformed heart? No, I tried it but it doesn't look right. <|3 How about a severed heart. Chopped up lol.**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: Thank you! I'm glad my stories help when people feel sick.**

**Otaku_Girl2176: Honestly, I had so many failed "ace sees the future fics" and many were marco x ace but just never came out right. Oh, no, what have I done? Now people will want me to finish those ones! Maybe someday, but I'm not working on those right now. lol**

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**Sorry about the late posting! Other things came up and I forgot. But it's still on the right day! Only 2 more chapters after this one! Enjoy~**

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After Ace saved Stefan, he was incredibly clingy. So clingy that he'd take turns sleeping in Ace's room and sleeping with Pops. That was hard, since he had to have the door open for Stefan to walk through, though it was best to keep it locked for Ace's sake, so he didn't get up and do something while half-dead. So, Fossa made a doggy door for him, which could lock from the inside if he wished. And that worked very well. Ace's rug didn't have thread, so Stefan couldn't eat it and choke.

And while Ace liked the dog, he was unused to constant attention in that way. But he could do nothing for him to stop following him around. Pops expressed joking jealousy about Ace stealing his dog away.

"At least he's getting some exercise," Haruta pointed out, lounging in the reclining chair on the deck, along with Ace and Marco. All three of them had their shirts off (which wasn't a change for Ace) because it was so damn hot. They were nearing a summer island and a heat wave. Ace was the only one who was fine and not affected by the heat, which everyone was jealous of. Even Marco was sweating more than usual.

Thatch refused to "sunbathe" because when he had, his pompadour had blocked the sun from half of his face and left the bottom half with a sunburn while the rest was a normal shade. It was absolutely hilarious to everyone but him. So, he didn't sunbathe anymore.

Ace was perfectly happy before he got a bad feeling, and sighed, waiting for what was going to come. Part of him worried it would be something else about him being pissed at an unknown person, but it wasn't that.

_Pops! Don't move, you broke your ankle._

_Damn._

Ace's eyes shot open, and he looked down at Pops' feet to see one of his thicker IV tubes, resting over his foot. Ace stood up, Marco watching him intently, and walked to Pops, bending down to move the cord _behind_ his foot so he didn't trip.

Clearly, Whitebeard had been meant to trip and hurt himself, because when Ace did something about it, he felt the familiar and unwelcome spike. He grunted and covered his eyes. Marco got up and ushered him inside and out of the bright sunlight. Pops watched in confusion and worry as Marco escorted Ace away suddenly and without any clear reason.

"You okay?" Marco asked quietly once they were more alone. Ace nodded, and explained that Pops was going to trip on the IV tube, so he moved it. "Thanks, Ace. Do you want me to get something for the headache?"

Ace shook his head. "It'll pass in a few minutes." When the door inside opened, they heard Stefan's claws clicking on the floor as he stopped and whined outside the door for the storage room they'd entered. Ace sighed, and Marco chuckled.

Marco opened the door and Stefan bolted in and jumped against Ace's leg. "You should be calmer, old man. Don't want to hurt your hip or back. I may be able to stop you choking, but I'm not a miracle worker," Ace scolded as he crouched to pet the white dog.

Pops was then there, smiling at his precious dog but then looking serious. "May I speak to you two, and gather Thatch, as well?" he asked. Marco looked a bit worried, but not at all surprised. He nodded, and said he'd get Thatch.

"It's time, Ace," Marco said, putting his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. The headache had passed, thankfully. He looked up at Whitebeard, who was giving him an encouraging smile. Ace bit his lip and sighed. It had been four months since he'd joined. He was closer to Marco and Thatch than Pops, even if he shared a secret the others didn't. Pops was the only one on the ship who knew about his father. Besides Deuce.

But how would he react to something so much more different? Ace didn't think he'd turn him in or anything, or spread it much. He didn't know if he would think Ace was a freak, or something was wrong with him.

Marco had said none of them had come across anything like Ace's situation, so there was no precedent to analyze the reaction for that. Ace nodded, hands in his pockets, before he left to get the paper from Marco's room as he went to get Thatch. The paper was old and overused. The ink on the back was smeared, and you could tell it had been folded and unfolded many, many times. He was also completely out of room. The more important ones had stars next to them. Those that had changed something or had been recurring.

He wondered how Pops would react to Ace thinking he was a commander when he very obviously wasn't. Would he be upset? Would he name Ace commander just because the voice in his head told him he was? That would be awful, and he'd always feel unworthy if he was given the position in that way.

Ace met Whitebeard in the meeting room, Thatch and Marco arriving not long after. Thatch had a milkshake, and handed it to Ace. It had whip cream, chocolate sprinkles and sticks of chocolate out of the foam. All of Ace's favorites. He smiled at Thatch in thanks, and took a long sip.

The three sat on one side of the table with Pops across from them. "I notice the secrets, my sons. I don't know what they are, but I know they have to do with Ace. And I truly want to know and be trusted with whatever bothers you that you feel you must keep a secret from everyone," Pops said calmly.

Marco and Thatch looked at Ace, who was looking at the table. He finally sighed and unfolded the list, sliding it across the table to the captain. The man looked curiously at the list before taking it and reading the whole page, turning it over not much longer after. "That's all the stuff I know that I shouldn't know." Whitebeard was confused.

"Can you explain a bit more?" he asked patiently.

Ace did his best to explain without sounding crazy, and he didn't know how well he'd done it. Started off by knowing Thatch's name to knowing warnings, like a dangerous island or situation. To getting snippets of random thought or dialogue to knowing Stefan was choking and when he lost control and shattered the ink bottle. What caught the most attention or curiosity was when Ace told Pops about the whole thing surrounding his mapping and charting skills.

Thatch had taken Ace's hand on the table to make him feel better. All three of them looked nervous. "So you think you came from the future?" Pops summed up pretty good. Ace shrugged, as he still didn't know. "It does not explain why you can't remember the previous two years," Whitebeard said curiously, sounding thoughtful. "As far as I'm sure, there is one time travel fruit, but Ace has a devil fruit already. Hmm…"

Ace's eyes were wide and Thatch started laughing. Ace looked at him in embarrassment and Marco joined in. Ace didn't get the joke and neither did Pops. "We _told_ you he wouldn't think you were a crazy freak." Ace blushed and looked down, brows furrowed.

"My son, even if there had been zero evidence that fits with your story, I would not have seen you as a crazy freak. You are still my son. You just have an extra layer of mystery to you now, that's all," Whitebeard said with a grin. "I'll do my best to help you get to the bottom of this," he vowed.

"Nooooo, I was special! Then Marco had to come along and now Pops!" Thatch whined. Marco hit his head.

Ace grinned. "You're still my closest friend, don't worry," he promised. Thatch started blubbering again and Whitebeard laughed loudly. Ace had a new confidant. And he'd not even asked if Ace wished to tell the others. He knew that he would want to keep it secret, as he had for the last four months.

-x-

Ace put the pen down and capped the ink bottle, blowing on his new map before grinning. They hadn't mapped the island they were on, and Pops gave him the order to be the one to officially map it. A heavy responsibility, since they'd be using this map for important reasons, but he felt he'd worked hard and that the map was accurate.

He picked it up once it was finished and held it up to the light. The paper they had was of wonderful quality. It was midnight by then, but he knew Haruta was on watch. And he wasn't tired enough to go to bed yet.

Stefan was thankfully clingy to Pops that day and hadn't been bothering him or distracting him while making the map. "Haruta!" Ace called. A sleepy face looked down, and asked what he wanted. "I finished my map!" he replied. Haruta stood up and gave him a bright smile and thumbs up.

"That's my favorite navigator!" Haruta cheered. Then he yawned. "Now, go to bed! It's past your bedtime, young man," Haruta said. Ace flipped him the bird, which Haruta returned with a smile. If Ace were to flip off anybody but Haruta or Thatch, he'd be in very deep trouble. And many disapproved of his familiarity, but it had been a week since Pops found out, and it changed Ace.

Well, multiple things changed him. After saving Stefan, it seemed like people who didn't pay attention to Ace just suddenly discovered this new kid and wanted to talk to him all the time. Ace was shocked by it, and just pegged it as people wanting to be with Stefan who happened to follow Ace around now.

It made him more social, even if it was to just take the pup along to them. Then, there was the rescue of Aioba. There hadn't been a single nother problem after that. They ignored one another still, but the change was that with Aioba out of the count for bullying Ace, he didn't hear the whispers, never having realized how many of them had their opinions linked to the original asshole.

He didn't hear many people calling him perfect after he got very sick, which he pegged down as a coincidence. And he was so happy that saving Stefan hadn't pissed off anybody else again. So, for the first time since joining almost 5 months ago, Ace felt like he truly belonged.

Some things, of course, were still not ideal. He was still insecure about what Pops liked to call his "second ability", even though Ace didn't want it. He'd predicted a marine attack two days earlier, but it was too late. He had known what would happen, but the second he got up to tell someone, he had a sleep attack and was unable to do anything to help.

It had made him absolutely ashamed. He felt incredibly useless. Nobody had died, thank god, but several had been injured badly. And if Ace didn't have narcolepsy, he could have stopped it. His fellow navigator wouldn't be missing an eye.

Ace had hidden in his room after that, in a ball on the bed with Stefan trying to cheer him up. Pops had knocked on the door and walked in, sitting on the floor next to the bed, the mattress much too small for him. "You can't be our savior every time, Ace. It was unfortunate timing, son. Nobody died, and only a few were hurt.

"Still, I coulda' done something," Ace murmured into his pillow, loud enough for the captain to hear.

"Nobody is perfect here, or anywhere. And nobody here expects anyone else to be perfect. They don't expect me to be perfect, or any of the commanders. You do so much to help us in every way you can and ways others can't. This was the first time something has happened like this, do not let it eat you alive with worry. Or guilt."

Ace still felt like shit, but knew he'd feel so much worse if everyone knew about his sporadic visions. They weren't vision to him, but it was easier to talk about them like that when he said he "saw" something. He just was unsure about how to describe the feeling to others accurately.

So, with people not hating him, the minority shrunk considerably, and with Pops knowing and still loving him as one of his sons, things were good.

He put his map in the slot in the catalogue, proud of himself very much, before he headed to his room to sleep after using the bathroom and brushing his teeth. He remembered to lock the door, like he had for a week straight, which he was proud of. Things were great.


	17. Second Division Commander

**Biefa_Less: I'm sad the story is almost over, too. :(**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: Haha I feel that. I'll type out a story idea in my phone when I'm trying to sleep and it's so full of the wrong words that I wake up and have no idea what it was supposed to be.**

**chalmao: I love Whitebeard. He's a good Pops. I am sad his voice actor died, though. :( He won't be the same.**

**Otaku_Girl2176: He deserves some happiness after everything. And before what will happen next. *mean grin***

**Sahow22739: Honestly that's something I would totally do, lol. I do do stuff like that in one of my other fics. sudden, gruesome deaths out of nowhere full of blood and angst. It's a blast to write that shit.**

**OtakuPie: <3/[ ] The heart broke out of the box. **

**Anime_Moonoo: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the chapter. While I enjoy making them suffer (hehe) I also like writing the warm moments.**

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**One chapter left after this one! Then I'll have to start posting one of my other stories in waiting! Enjoy~**

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"Stupid, fucking…" Ace grumbled under his breath as his cut arm was treated. He was pissed. There had just been a pirate attack and Ace hadn't known. He hadn't seen anything! It was useless.

"Don't feel too bad, Ace. They were pretty strong. Besides, you were mostly protecting the injured in your division, right?" Teach asked, getting a bullet wound treated in his shoulder on the bed nearest. Ace had gotten injured fighting to protect three of his injured division members who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. But he still should have seen something! He wished he could control this stupid power. It had been so long that he thought he'd have the hang of it by now. But it really was uncontrollable, which was extremely frustrating.

He knew about the second division commander, he got it! Stop thinking about it already! "Still, I got caught off guard and cut. It's embarrassing," Ace replied grumpily. Whiskey said he was all good to go, and Ace thanked her before leaving, Teach telling him one last time to not get too upset about it. It was in the past and he could do nothing about it.

When he went to the galley, starving, he found Pops talking with Vista, Jozu and Marco. When Ace entered and headed straight for the kitchen, making sure Thatch wasn't there before he snuck in and opened the fridge slowly, cautiously before pulling out a bin of leftover chicken. "Don't tell Thatch," Ace said quietly as he stuffed chicken in his mouth before shoving the container back in the fridge.

The other three nodded, and when Ace was about to leave, Pops said, "What you did for your brothers was very heroic, Ace. I'm proud of you." Ace blushed and nodded, but pointed out he'd been cut. "A small wound considering how many you fought off to protect them." Ace shrugged and then left.

_Second division commander. Soon._

Ace's eyes widened. Soon? He never got that part when he thought the first part. Would him protecting them make him the division commander? He _had_ grown more confident and on better terms with all of his division and the rest of the crew. He was good at his job, even if he wasn't the head navigator. He helped out and was able to predict storms before they formed, even if it was only quick enough for everyone to furl the sails but not be able to turn away from it.

He stood outside the door for a good minute before slapping both of his cheeks. He wasn't going to think about it. He walked back outside to relax, since the weather was nice and the ship was damaged less than the crew during the pirate attack. The enemy crew had sunk into the sea, all of the pirates aboard.

They were docking at an island in the few days, but they had plenty of maps of this island as it was a protected one, so Ace had decided he wanted to make a sea chart of the water surrounding the island, just for fun. They already knew enough about the shore to not necessarily need one. But it still might be helpful.

He wondered if he'd be able to still make the maps and charts if or when he became a commander.

_I want to make maps._

_After paperwork, that's fine._

Ace was shocked by that. He never got thoughts about his future memories when he wanted them, especially on the subject he wanted. But he knew by now, as it had been almost 8 months, that the closer an event came, the more memories he got about it. Especially if it was something big.

He was becoming more sure that he would finally stop thinking of being a commander and actually become one. But he'd say nothing to anyone about it. He just didn't want to be named commander because he told them that he was to become one in his visions. Many visions, actually.

But he was happy that he'd still be able to make maps even if he had the responsibilities of a commander. After he became more confident on the ship, the more confident he'd become about being a leader, since he was a captain for two years. A successful one that made it all the way to the New World.

Ace sat on the figurehead, lost in thought, when his thoughts traveled to Luffy. He'd be leaving in two months on his birthday. He hoped to see a bounty quickly. No doubt he would, since Luffy was unable to stay out of trouble, and he was sure that wouldn't change much just because he was three years older.

He smiled at the thought of seeing Luffy again. He couldn't wait, and maybe could introduce him to his crew! He was sure they'd think he was weird, but funny. And maybe annoying. While he was thinking about his brother, Thatch came over and sat down next to him. "Whatch's doin?"

"Thinking about my little brother. I miss him. Sometimes it felt like I only saw him a couple months ago, but other times I feel like it has been two years. It's weird," Ace explained honestly. "I can't wait for him to get a bounty. He's gonna be setting off in a few months."

Thatch said, "I want to meet him. You love him so much and everything. What was meeting him like?" Ace chuckled, but looked and felt kind of ashamed. Everyone knew that Luffy was his adopted brother since it was known that the younger was Garp's grandson while Ace wasn't.

"I sorta tried to murder him. For 3 months to be exact," Ace confessed, unable to make eye contact. Thatch was silent for a moment before he screeched, "WHAT?!"

Ace quickly explained that things had obviously changed. And that Luffy forgave him, even wanted to still be his friend when Ace was a complete and total asshole. "Man! I can't believe he would continue to try and be friends with someone who tried to kill him! Over and over!" Luckily, he wasn't being loud enough for many people to hear since they were close to the very front of the whale figurehead.

Ace nodded, agreeing. "He's a pure soul. He changed me a lot, I was so mean. If he hadn't been there, I probably would still be a violent brat. Things would be very different," Ace mused. "I did have another brother, but he was killed by a celestial dragon when he was twelve." Thatch sighed and rubbed his back, apologizing for it. "I can think about him with a smile now. It's been 8 years, after all."

Thatch nodded, saying he was glad it didn't hurt him anymore. "How's your arm?" Thatch wondered.

"It's fine. I'm sure it'll heal quickly. I'm just glad they weren't killed," Ace replied. Thatch smiled at him, but Ace said nothing. "Haki is irritating when it's used against me. I'm not very good at it. I can do observation haki, but not the other two yet," Ace said, not thinking. Thatch noticed his wording, though.

"You can use conqueror's haki?" he wondered, though he didn't seem very surprised. Ace sighed, putting his face in his hands. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. You should know that by now, bro." Ace smiled, and explained that he only remembered using it one time when he was a kid. "Wow! When you were twelve? That's amazing!" Ace blushed.

He replied, "Well, I can't use it now. Probably only when I'm in a super stressful situation. After all, Luffy was about to be killed right in front of me. And we were surrounded by fire."

Thatch whistled. "You sure had an exciting childhood." Ace nodded in agreement. It definitely wasn't a very normal one, was it? Well, it made him strong and who he was today, so he was glad for it. And he'd met Luffy and Sabo. Sabo might still be alive if they'd had a normal one, but he wouldn't have been _Sabo._

Marco walked over and told Thatch that they were having a commanders' meeting, and so the two left Ace to go have their meeting. Ace's heart started beating quickly. _Soon._ He was getting his hopes up, and couldn't control it. He hadn't really realized that he _did_ want to be commander. He wanted to officially protect his division, give them someone permanent.

Having a different commander every week had sucked, and them doing that for 20 years must be worse. But then he thought of his old crew. He just ditched them in the beginning, and now he rarely spoke to them. But, they had assimilated into the crew greatly. He saw them smiling all the time, and they waved to one another with smiles, so they weren't miserable.

Deuce had been the only one to know why he backed away, and he had been so understanding. He didn't deserve that, but would be forever grateful for his understanding and consideration for Ace's feelings, no matter if it may have hurt him.

He had friends, though, as well. And he was helpful to the ship, one of the multi talented members who helped out in two divisions on alternating weeks. So he made so many friends. He was both a shipwright and doctor. For some reason, he seemed averse to being a doctor even if he was the one on the Spade crew.

But, once he was acknowledged, he seemed to enjoy being there. He worked on forming medications and not directly treating others like the nurses and sometimes Curiel. So, Ace rested more easily knowing Deuce was happy, even if it wasn't because of him. But, this was better than just never acknowledging their presence like he had before. They forgave him for that.

He passed out for a bit, still on the figurehead. He woke up about thirty minutes later and stretched, having been moved to the deck, probably so he didn't fall off the figurehead if a sudden storm hit. He stood and left the deck to use the bathroom.

When he was in his little office, he was sketching in his sketchbook that he hid in there. His drawings weren't very good, so he didn't want people to see them. It was the one he got for christmas. It wasn't very full, but it was used.

He was distracted as he doodled, not really thinking about his sketch until he was startled out of it when Marco knocked on the doorway. Ace looked up and then down to close the book before he saw what he'd drawn.

The youngest furrowed his brows, seeing a drawing he thought looked vaguely familiar. It was a view from above at what looked like a battlefield, so many small people below. A huge wall, the Moby Dick and sister ships in the bay that was shown. There were two ice walls on either side. It was strange, that this drawing was clearer than any he'd ever made in the sketchbook.

"Ace? Can I talk to you?" Marco asked. Ace looked up from the sketchbook and the drawing faded from his mind the moment he looked away, he closed it and hid it in a section under the desk.

"What's wrong?"

"Have you thought about the second division seat in awhile?" he asked. Ace nodded, saying he'd thought it that day. "Did you still want it?" Ace's eyes widened, but he didn't feel too surprised. He nodded slowly. Marco grinned. "Pops asked me to ask you so you weren't put under the spot. Looks like you _can_ see the future, Ace."

He grinned back. "Am I good for it? Why did you choose me?"

"It wasn't just me, everyone approved. You're responsible, powerful, talented in what your division does, you are friends with almost everyone in the second division and get along well with the commanders. Pops said he's been thinking about it for a while but finally decided when you put yourself in harm's way to protect those who were vulnerable. You did so knowing the attacker had haki," Marco explained happily.

Ace asked, just to make sure, if he'd still have time to work on his maps and charts. "Of course. Besides, your division has been running on its own alright this whole time. But they deserve a commander, and we think you're right for the job," Marco replied. "Do you want to go give the others your answer?" Ace nodded.

The two walked to the meeting room to see all of the other commanders, and a red and orange cupcake on the table in front of his new seat between Jozu and Marco. "So, do you accept?" Thatch asked, though he was wearing a smirk, knowing that Ace would accept, since he'd known all along that this would happen.

The youngest nodded with a smile. The table cheered, though it was mostly Thatch, Haruta, and Izo who cheered loudest while the others smiled or congratulated him. Thatch commanded him to eat the cupcake, which Ace gladly did. It was delicious, and he liked that it looked like it was on fire. Thatch wasn't just a good chef, he was great at baking, too.

"Why don't we tell everyone during dinner?" Pops suggested, smiling brightly. After all, the empty division was finally filled after so long. And Ace was honored to be given it, even though he felt he knew all along. Why else would that one title go through his head so many times? It was one of the rare realizations that happened much before it actually became relevant. He wondered why.

Thatch left the room, and Ace followed happily. "We'll help you learn tomorrow, okay?" Izo asked, and Ace nodded with a smile. "Congrats, Ace. We're glad we have you. That seat has been empty far too long."

"Thanks, Izo," Ace said before he turned and caught up to Thatch. "Hey, Thatch, I gotta go check off the vision but can I help you out afterwards?" Thatch nodded, so happy for Ace and himself. But he sort of knew already. Ace was glad his visions or whatever were becoming more concrete and fulfilled.

He walked down the hall to Marco's room, taking the paper out and checking off next to the _second division commander_ note. Then, he realized that his room would no longer be the converted storage room. He walked to the door next to Marco's and opened it. It was dusty, and he turned the light on to see it already had furniture in it. A desk, bedside tables on either side of the large bed, a big dresser, and even a lounge chair in the corner.

Plastic sheeting was over most of the furniture, which he was glad of. The sheeting sure did have a lot of dust. Then he grinned and went into the attached bathroom. It had a small counter with a basin in the middle, a couple shelves, a toilet and small shower. He wondered if the larger commanders had bigger rooms. This one wasn't an all-size-fits-one room like most were.

He was still smiling and checked the paper, putting it on his own bedside table. So much space! Then, he headed to the office that _was_ now his, not just loaned to him, and took the sketchbook out to put in his new room.

He dropped it and it fell open. He picked it up and looked at the drawing in almost the exact middle of the sketchbook. He suddenly realized he'd forgotten about drawing it, and an uneasy feeling came back. Then he looked up to turn the lightswitch off and it fell out of his mind again. Then he looked down to close it, the thoughts coming back.

What was going on? Why was he forgetting this so many times? This was the third time. It wasn't a coincidence, something about this drawing was _bad._ And he didn't want to remember it? Why? He went to his mapping supplies and took one of the permanent pens and wrote _Don't forget drawing_ on his arm. He closed the book and forgot, looking at the ink on his arm. What did that mean? Then he remembered, and added, _left pocket_ and tore out the paper, folding it and putting it in his pocket.

He was worried. But he tried to push it out of his mind and be happy about his new position. It worked, and he looked away from the mark, forgetting all about it for that moment. He hurried back to the kitchen to help Thatch out. He had baked a ton of cupcakes sometime that day. Ace didn't know when, but didn't ask.

"Can I help decorate?" he asked at the counter.

"Sure!" Thatch replied, and gave Ace one of the cooking sheets and got to decorating the cupcakes. He didn't think he did too bad, but Thatch's were completely over the top with little flowers on each one and small decorative and edible balls. But, they were very pretty. Too pretty for tough pirates, in Ace's opinion.

He joked, "Those are supposed to be for pirates? I'm sure butterfly decorations don't really fit fearsome pirates." Thatch pouted at him, and said there was nothing wrong with pretty things. "Did Izo brainwash that into you?"

Thatch looked horrified. "Oh no!" Ace cracked up laughing, and Thatch threw a small piece of frosting at Ace's face. Ace just wiped it off with his thumb and licked it. He wasn't angry, and wasn't going to waste the beautiful cupcakes, whether they fit for them or not. Thatch was working hard on them, and Ace wasn't an asshole like that.

"Sooo, you were right all along, huh? Second division commander indeed," Thatch said, tongue sticking out as he crafted the flowers and butterflies.

Ace smiled and nodded. "It's weird, since that one has been here all along. Usually they come right before they happen, y'know?" the youngest commander commented, working on trying to make one of the cupcakes look like waves.

Thatch agreed with that. Then he looked up, and asked, "What's with your arm?" Ace frowned, asking what he meant. "There is writing on your arm, right there," he pointed out. Ace looked down, not remembering writing this.

"I… don't remember writing this," he said. It had been a long time since he hadn't remembered something that just happened. "Was this here during the meeting?" Thatch shook his head, looking at him strangely. "Left pocket," he said and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

He unfolded it, suddenly remembering it. "I've forgotten drawing this four times in the last hour. That's why I wrote it on my arm," Ace said quietly. Thatch wiped his hands on a towel and asked to see it.

The chef frowned at it. "What is it?"

"What is what?" Ace wondering, looking up from his cupcake. Thatch looked very worried. He held up the picture, the drawing facing Ace now. Ace blinked twice and put his hand to his forehead, trying to think. He was still looking at it. "Make it five times."

Thatch kept it facing Ace. "It looks like some sort of war or something," he observed. "And that's the Moby Dick and sister ships. Back there, in the background… Those are some of our allied crews! How… did you know what they look like? You've only been here to see a handful," he said, brows furrowed deeply.

Ace said he wasn't sure. "I don't feel good about this drawing," Ace said. Thatch nodded in agreement. He promised to not let Ace forget about it. "Thanks. Will you hold onto it? If I keep forgetting it, I might throw it away or put it in the wash and ruin it."

Thatch nodded and pocketed the drawing. "What were we talking about? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you're just doing a terrible job," Thatch said, a nervous smile on. Ace snapped back that he was doing well considering he'd never done it before. He didn't notice Thatch biting his lip when the younger commander went back to his cupcakes.

"We finally have a second division commander!" Whitebeard announced happily at dinner. "We've given Ace that position. We agree that he's proven he can be a great one." Ace was nervous, not knowing how everyone was going to react. But there was cheering in the room, shouts of "Yeah, go Ace!" and tons of "Finally!". Ace grinned, cheeks a bit pink.

That dinner was the best in a long time, getting pats on the back from so many pirates walking behind where he was sitting, finally belonging at the commanders' table. Before, he was a plus-one for Thatch and Marco, but now he really did belong there.

It was after dinner that Thatch asked to talk to Marco and Ace. They headed to Ace's office and sat down on the chair or desk, Thatch standing. "We have a problem, I think. Ace do you remember writing those words on your arm?" Ace looked down and shook his head, looking confused. "Do you remember drawing a picture that worried you?"

"No… what is this about?" Ace asked. Marco looked confused as well. Thatch pulled out the picture.

"You drew this sometime today, and have forgotten about it over 5 times. Everytime you look away, you forget it," Thatch said slowly, handing Ace the drawing. It came back to him, the feeling of worry, of forgetting it over and over. Marco looked over his shoulder. "It looks like a battle, doesn't it?" The first mate nodded, taking the drawing from Ace.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked, seeing Marco's concerned face.

"See?" Thatch said. Marco turned the drawing around, and Ace grew frustrated, hitting his forehead with the heel of his palm. "I don't know what to think. Ace hasn't forgotten something like this, not even when he didn't remember his crew. This feels different, worse."

Marco sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Clearly, if it does happen, it's not soon. If Ace drew this without knowing it, I have no doubt he will remember it happening. Or a really long time. Remember when he had the angry one? About someone losing his trust? That was months ago and nothing has come of it. We know by now that his visions come true. It just hasn't happened yet. And we've put it behind us. For now, I think it's what we do with this. We can do nothing about it, get no new information if it slips from Ace's mind the second he looks away?" Ace and Thatch nodded. "I'll hide this in my room again. We don't want Ace throwing it away on accident." The other two agreed.

Thatch said they wouldn't bring it up with Ace unless it was necessary. "Should we tell Pops?" Ace asked, still staring at the haunting drawing. The mystery drawing he continued to forget.

"Not today. He's happy, I don't want to ruin it. I'm gonna put it away now," Marco said, and the moment it was folded up, Ace asked if he was going to sleep in his new room, the drawing forgotten once again.

That night, all of Ace's things were moved to his new room, which they worked to dust off and clean. He put up the maps on the walls, and the rug was there. The office was much closer to his new room than his old one, so if he did sleepwalk, it wouldn't be far. A doggy door was put on this one as well so Stefan could continue to enter whenever he wished.

Now his bed was big enough for the old boy to fit on and sleep, instead of on the floor. And that night, he did. He seemed happy with being able to go between Pops' and Ace's doors, not having to walk far.

Ace went to bed happy, but it didn't last.

It was past midnight when he started having a nightmare. A burning sensation in his chest, painful and unbearable. He heard muddled words, cries, begging. He didn't recognize the voice, but it was familiar. Then things changed, and suddenly he was looking at a blurry lump of white and red, red spilled around it. Someone's body, out of focus. Someone dead.

He felt whips on his back, stinging as he wasn't fire. Stiff arms from them being raised. He saw orange and black, mixing in a terrifying cloud above him. He was sucked into the blackness. "I w...n l...v!" a garbled voice cried. It had emotion in it, even if he didn't know what it was saying.

He didn't realize he was screaming bloody murder the whole time until he was shaken awake. He jolted up, breathing heavily, but not knowing why. Thatch was there, hair down and messy, with Marco bolting into the room as well. He was confused, not understanding what was happening. "What happened?" he asked, seeing the true concern on his brothers' faces.

"You had a nightmare, Ace. You were screaming," Thatch said quietly, though everyone else had to be awake now.

"I did?"

Marco nodded, pointing out he was dripping in sweat. "I don't remember," Ace said, fisting his hands in the blanket, angry at himself so much. He felt he'd forgotten something else, but didn't remember. It was fuzzy. Everything in his head was fuzzy but the anger at himself. "I'm sorry for waking you up," he mumbled.

"It's okay, Ace. Do you want to sleep in one of our rooms? We could wake you up if you have another one," Thatch offered. Ace was embarrassed. "We're brothers, Ace. We help one another out when it's needed."

Ace nodded, and Thatch said he had a mat in his room that he didn't use. It was in the closet he had. Ace didn't have a closet, but most of the commanders' rooms were designed differently. Ace stood and thanked Thatch, putting pajama pants on as he was in his boxers. He left the bed a mess, hoping Stefan hadn't been in there with him and been scared.

They went to Thatch's room, and saw Haruta was out, looking worried. "Bad dream," Thatch simply said, leading Ace into his room and putting out the mat and a blanket. Ace felt that the other commanders had known that Ace wouldn't need everybody. Thatch and Marco were close. Marco beside Ace's room and Thatch's across from him.

He went to bed, but had no nightmare.


	18. The Reason All Along

**A/N at bottom. Enjoy~**

* * *

"I'm sorry if I woke anybody last night. I had a nightmare," Ace said at breakfast.

"I didn't wake up. The commander rooms have thicker walls," Jozu said, even though he had been right next door. Thatch pointed out that he'd been awake when it happened, as had Marco. Marco had been unable to fall asleep and was working on paperwork to try and tire himself out. Thatch said he was having trouble sleeping as well, but didn't give a reason. He looked uncomfortable about it. Haruta said he was in the bathroom, so he heard as well.

Ace was so relieved that he hadn't caused anyone else to wake up. "That's good," Ace sighed, eating his food with more enthusiasm. Pops asked if he remembered it. "No, I don't," Ace replied, not mentioning that he hadn't even realized he'd had one in the first place.

That day he spent training with any commander who was open, teaching him how meetings went, how much work he'd probably have a day, and was explained what he'd need to do for paperwork. It didn't sound too bad and Ace didn't regret accepting. He wouldn't be able to lounge around and do nothing a lot of the time. He was important now, and it made him feel good.

His division was all excited for him. Aioba made no comment, which was better than him denouncing Ace. Even those much older than Ace in his division didn't protest, which Ace was so glad of. He was worried they'd not want a 20 year old being their superior.

Ace caught on quickly, and by the next day, he was doing his job. He reported to Pops a lot, spending more time with him, and it was wonderful. He had spent time with him before, but never like this. Never gave his opinions on decisions. Was never trusted like this. It was a great privilege.

He did wonder how the papers would find out about his position. He already had a large bounty from his Spades days. Mostly from openly attacking marine vessels and bases for fun, and competing to take on other rookie crews in the New World with them. He still wished he remembered them, but it had been almost nine months, and nothing had come back.

He gave up hoping for those memories to come back. He was sure they wouldn't, and wasn't going to dwell on them. It made him sad, and he didn't like being sad. It was two weeks later that Ace was the happiest he had ever been since waking up on the Moby Dick.

"POPS! Pops, look! My little brother got his first bounty! That didn't take long at all!" Ace gushed, shoving the wanted poster in his father's face. Pops laughed and took it from him, smiling at the poster that so didn't fit a wanted man. "Isn't he adorable!"

Whitebeard laughed harder and agreed. "He looks like quite the happy person." Ace beamed and nodded, taking the poster back to look at. He looked so happy! Ace was glad he was happy, and wondered what kind of adventure he'd been on so far. This poster showed he'd taken out a whole fishman crew, but didn't give details.

He was so happy, and showed everyone the poster, thoroughly annoying many. Thatch was so happy for him, wanting to meet the kid.

"His smile is so bright! Looks like a good kid, Ace," Teach had said, making Ace nod in agreement. Teach was not a navigator, but knew the others well, so he worked with Ace a lot of the time in the beginning until Ace was thoroughly confident he knew enough about everyone, having worked to get to know them more.

Being a commander was fun, even though paperwork was annoying and sometimes stressful. Especially when he was finally done with his first report, which took three hours to finish and he had a sleep attack, spilling ink all over the pages. He stayed up till one in the morning working on it to get it in on time before the others woke up and found it wasn't in its slot outside Pops' door to review.

Ace hadn't had another nightmare, at least, that he could remember. He finally no longer hid the list in Marco's room. Now it was in Ace's in the back of the drawer under the sink.

He was doing paperwork at the end of the third week, all of the wanted posters for Luffy framed on the wall, making the room finally look more cozy and homey. Stefan was sleeping at his feet, drooling over his boot. He thought he was done before he finally realized he was _not_ doing his paperwork, but drawing on the important documents! He hadn't even noticed! He growled at the sloppy and indistinguishable drawing. He erased it, thankful he'd used pencil after spilling ink all over his papers the first time.

He erased it as best as he could before turning it in. For him, it took longer to do paperwork than anybody else. Even Marco, the first mate, took less time to do weekly paperwork. Even if it had been weeks since he was put in the position, he still had trouble not going into extreme detail about everything.

The others said to paraphrase, but he'd never been good at writing in the first place, and Pops said he was perfectly fine with detailed accounts of what had happened. Ace was glad he, and everyone else, were so understanding.

While it felt like he'd always been in this spot, like he felt he'd always been a Whitebeard pirate, it was still feeling new to him this time. But, he knew he'd catch on quick enough, and wasn't impatient for it to happen. For once, he was going through a process of improving, not just suddenly being a pro at it like so many other things.

That night, he sleep walked again, but didn't leave the room. He didn't go make a map or the usual, instead he woke up to sleeping with his face against his desk, sketchbook open and showing an absolutely _disgusting_ drawing. It was a hole that was clearly a chest, bleeding with what looked like some sort of melted substance coming out of the edges. It made goosebumps run down his spine.

He didn't know why he'd draw such a thing, but it bothered him greatly. He wanted to tear it up and never look at it again, but part of him told him not to. To keep it, maybe out of sight so he didn't need to see it.

After tearing it out of the sketchbook, he put it under the sink with his list. The list was stapled to another one, since he'd run out of space on it. After that, he couldn't sleep anymore, and left the room, putting on fresh clothes and heading outside. He found Teach outside on watch, and climbed the ratlines to sit with him.

"Anything interesting happen?" Ace asked once he sat down.

"Nah, not really. Couple sea kings got in a fight, but didn't come anywhere near. Isn't it a little late to be awake?" Teach wondered. Ace replied that he couldn't sleep after waking up, but didn't explain why. Teach asked if it was a bad dream.

"Sort of. I don't really want to talk about it, just want to forget," Ace answered. "I want to thank you, Teach. For helping me out at first with being a commander. It meant a lot to me," he said with a smile. Teach laughed and said he was glad to help.

He replied, "Brothers help one another, right?"

"Sure do," Ace agreed, and they spent the rest of Teach's watch talking. Ace eventually snuck into the kitchen to get a couple cherry pies. There were always a couple in the fridge due to the cravings of Teach and some of his friends from other divisions. Ace compared it to him being addicted to french toast in the mornings.

After breakfast, Ace had taken Thatch and Marco aside before they started their work days. Even though Ace no longer could follow them around, he still made time to hang out with them. He brought them to his room, and told them he woke up after drawing something horrible. The two shared a look that Ace couldn't decipher.

They both sat on the bed when Ace got the drawing out and then handed it to them. "Oh my god," Marco said in horror and disgust. "Do you remember having a nightmare?" Ace shook his head, saying he woke up to it, having drawn it while sleepwalking.

"Is… is that a _person?_ " Thatch asked quietly.

Ace nodded. "You can see the outlines of abs and pecs. It goes right through this person's chest. It scares me," Ace confessed. Marco asked if he remembered this all the time. "Yeah. Why, what do you mean?"

Thatch explained about the drawing Ace had forgotten. Of a huge battle in an unknown place and situation. Ace was shocked by that. Why would he forget that over and over? Something really was wrong with him. Would he forget more things? "It's been over a month since that, and you haven't forgotten anything else but the nightmare. But we don't usually remember dreams, so I wouldn't think about that one too much," Thatch said.

"Do you think this is like, a prediction? That this will happen to somebody?" Ace asked quietly.

Marco said they wouldn't know unless Ace had a vision of something regarding it. "Do you think we should finally tell Pops?" he asked.

Ace said, "There's no point in making him worry. There's nothing we can do about this. And it might just be some nightmare I had. I didn't forget it, right? Not like the other picture you said about."

"Wait. Wait, you just remembered it after we told you about it. Usually you forget all about it after we don't mention it or show it anymore," Thatch said quickly. "But, you've seen stuff before, right? Other than feelings and thoughts?" Ace nodded, saying it happened only a few times. "But it's always from first person, right?" He nodded again, and looked back at the drawing.

Marco knew what he was thinking and said, "This is drawn in third person. It might not be of you, Ace. I don't know who it would be, though. Or what on earth caused the skin to _melt._ It's horrible." Thatch nodded in agreement and Ace sighed. They were right, everything was always first person. This was not. And even if it wasn't third person, he would be unable to be in a position to see through the hole completely.

"I really hope this is the product of a nightmare I can't remember," Ace mumbled, putting his face in his palm. Thatch stood and put his hand on Ace's shoulder, giving him an encouraging look.

"Don't let this drawing ruin things for you. You're so happy, right? Luffy is a happy pirate now, you're finally second division commander, you're loved by your division and supported by everyone. Don't let this overshadow all of that," Thatch said sincerely. Ace nodded, a watery smile on. Thatch gave him a hug. "I'm sorry these things happen to you."

Marco stood up and put his hand on Ace's back. "We're here to support you no matter what. Talk to us if anything else like this happens." Ace said he would, and they went off to do their duties.

Ace was distracted all day, but still did his work properly. The commander noticed, though. Especially Pops, who pulled him aside to ask what was wrong, if something happened. "Just a bad dream. I keep thinking about it," Ace said, an awkward smile on. It was hard to lie to Pops, even more now that they spent more time talking and being in the same place at the same time.

"You don't need to hide anything from me, son," Whitebeard said sincerely. Ace looked down.

"It's really nothing. I don't want to worry you about stupid stuff," he mumbled, kicking a booted foot into the wood floor, the picture of awkward and uncomfortable.

"It is not stupid if it bothers you like this," he insisted. "Please, tell me if something is bothering you. I know Marco and Thatch are your confidants, but I want to help you as well."

Ace finally said, "I woke up to a scary drawing. It's bothering me. That's all." Pops' brows furrowed. He asked if it was like how he sleep walked to make maps and sea charts, which still happened, just not as often as it once had. He nodded. He asked if Ace could explain what the drawing was of. "A bloody hole in somebody's chest, the skin around it melted and charred."

To say Pops was shocked at just how disturbing the drawing was was an understatement. "I'm so sorry, son. I would be afraid if I woke to that as well," he said sincerely. "Did you have a nightmare that you remember?"

Ace shook his head. "If I had a nightmare about that, I _know_ I'd wake up screaming or remember it. I don't remember getting up to draw it, so I was half-dead when it happened. But the drawing is so clear, obvious what it is. I'm not even good at drawing and it came out so realistic." His hands were shaking. "My visions are always first person. So seeing it like that might not be coming from my eyes. But I don't know who it would be." He sighed. "There's not enough context, but I don't want any context."

Pops hugged him. "If you want a break for the rest of the day to relax, I'll gladly allow it." Ace shook his head, saying he didn't want time to think about it too much. "Alright, but if you need to, tell me, okay?" Ace nodded and thanked him.

-x-

A little over two weeks passed, and there had been no more scary drawings or nightmares. He wasn't stupid enough to think it was all over, though. He didn't know when it would be over, but it wasn't. Or if it would ever be over. And nothing had come of either drawings. Ace couldn't remember what the first drawing looked like, but he knew Thatch and Marco talked about it.

He still forgot what it looked like when it was out of sight, but knowing it was there was an improvement. He was happier again, but still, the abnormalities hung over his head like a rain cloud, sometimes showering him with stress, but most time in the back of his mind. Lingering, but not in full view.

Ace wasn't free of the pain for long. It had been ten months since he woke up to a new life. Since he forgot everyone and everything of the past two years. The visions continued to come, most of them vague snippets of conversation or thoughts. Small ones, nothing big. Maybe an island that has enemy pirates on it, or knowing when a storm would damage the ship, small things like that that were easy to correct.

And all of those small things were meant to be corrected. No painful headaches after changing something small. That was nice, as the headaches were hell. He was in the kitchen when the next vision came.

"You know why I'm here," Ace said. "We got the ship in the wrong direction, bake us some cupcakes."

Thatch said, "You are too addicted to cupcakes, young man."

"And whose fault is that?" Ace teased. "C'mon, we need a pick me up. Don't you care about your beloved brothers?" he asked in an innocent voice. Thatch sent him an unimpressed look, and agreed to make some damn cupcakes.

Ace was about to reply when his eyes went wide, and he dropped off his sentence, hands digging into the counter until the marble broke off. "Hey! What are y- Ace?!" Thatch exclaimed, hurrying over to Ace, who wasn't blinking, eyes wide and staring at the same place, breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

"No, no, no, no, no," Ace chanted, but wouldn't reply to anything Thatch was doing, any sound or his voice.

Ace had never had a vision like this. He was so angry that one time, but never had this overwhelming grief overtake his mind. It was familiar to Sabo's death, but worse in some way. Thatch continued to try and snap him out of it, but Ace was unresponsive, unable to hear him or feel him. He was consumed by the vision.

It was too long, way too long. Sometime during it, Marco had walked in to announce a meeting when he saw Thatch shaking Ace and calling his name. Marco hurried over, demanding what was wrong. "I think he's having a vision!"

"That's not out of the ordin- oh my god," Marco said, seeing Ace's bright red face, tears falling down his cheeks out of his wide eyes. He wasn't moving or responding, breathing quickly. He was silent, but his fingers were bleeding from broken stone. Marco tried to remove them, but the hands just clamped down harder.

"Ace, Ace wake up. How long has he been like this?" Marco demanded.

"I lost count after eight minutes," Thatch said quietly. Marco gasped. Usually his visions lasted a few seconds. "He kept saying 'no, no, no' over and over but he's stopped." Thatch finally pried his fingers off of the stone and Marco scooped him up. Marco said they were taking him to his room.

Ace was still catatonic while he was hurried through the halls and to his room. He said nothing, but continued to cry, until suddenly his hands shot out and gripped Marco's arm, _hard._ His fingers were coated in haki and gripping Marco's arm so hard that he started to tear into the skin. Marco hissed at it, but didn't try to stop him since it would heal after the haki no longer was touching him.

When he got to his room, Ace still wasn't saying anything, but he was no longer still or frozen. He stood up and staggered to his desk, taking a pen and started to draw with so much pressure the wood was creaking. Marco and Thatch watched what he was drawing. He wasn't drawing, but writing.

 _Teach traitor. Teach traitor. Teach traitor. Teach trai-_ before there was too much pressure on the desk and the whole top of it snapped in half, wood digging into Ace's hands and making them bleed again. He was unable to use his powers while like this, which was why he was being cut.

Marco and Thatch's faces both went white. But nothing they did or said stopped Ace's vision. It had been twelve minutes by then, and they were both scared for their brother. "Oh my god," Marco said suddenly, Thatch having put a towel under Ace's fingers as he dug them into the wood, the pen broken in half.

"What?" Thatch asked.

"He was thinking of this months ago! With the ink bottle! 'How dare he do this. I trusted him'! He's known about this for months, Thatch!" Marco shouted, gripping Ace's shoulder, trying to pull him away and back to the bed, but he was rigid, not moving.

Finally, he did something, but it was just screaming bloody murder, worse than his nightmare had been. And he clawed at his chest, fingers digging into his skin. Marco finally pinned him down on his stomach, holding his hands behind his back as he kept screaming before he finally stilled, completely unconscious.

"M-Marco… the drawing of the chest," Thatch cried quietly, biting into his lower lip.

"I know. I know," Marco said just as quietly. "Close and lock the door, Thatch. Don't let anyone in until Ace is awake. Even Pops," he ordered, and Thatch ran to the door, locking it and pushing the dresser in front of it. Marco finally unpinned the youngest and picked him up, bringing him to the bed. "God, I hope he can tell us what happened. But I'm not sure if I want him to remember."

Thatch sat on the bed and brought Ace's head into his lap, running his fingers through his hair, wanting to comfort him in any way he could. Ace's eyes were no longer open wide. Marco went to the bathroom and got a wet towel to clean the blood off of the youngest.

"Marco… Teach… he betrayed us?" Thatch asked in a high voice.

Marco looked down. "I believe Ace. This has been a long time coming. Finding this out. The signs have been here for months. He did those before he knew. While he was friends with Teach, deep inside he knew."

Thatch was crying, tears dripping onto Ace's forehead. "Do you think he came back after dying? No… nobody could survive that drawing. Not even a logia," he said, voice thick with grief and hurt. Marco said that was possible.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. "You guys in there?" Vista's voice asked. "We're supposed to be in a meeting," he said, sounding irritated a bit.

Marco's voice was more steady than Thatch's would be. "Ace is feeling ill, we'll come out once he feels better," he said in a stable voice.

Vista replied, "Oh, alright. I'll tell Pops." Marco and Thatch were grateful that he asked no questions and trusted their words. Hopefully no one else came to see what was wrong. After another fifteen minutes of silence, with Ace still unconscious, he finally opened his eyes slowly, before they snapped open and he started to sob, but didn't curl into a ball. He wrapped his arms around Thatch tightly, sobbing.

Thatch hugged him back, rubbing his back. "Shh, you're okay. You're not there, Ace," he tried to sooth. After a while, Ace got himself calmed down more, and was no longer sobbing, though the tears didn't stop. "Are you alright?" Ace shook his head. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ace whispered, "Nobody will believe me."

"There's enough evidence over time to prove whatever you say, Ace," Marco told him kindly. "Please, tell us. And then we can tell the others for you." Ace sniffled but nodded. He took a deep breath and began to talk.

"I… saw the last three months of my life." Thatch winced, but didn't seem surprised. Marco looked down, gritting his teeth. "Thatch, you found a devil fruit. The dark dark fruit. And Teach, he killed you for it! I- I walked outside, and you were bleeding on - the - deck. He - was - gone - and - killed - you!" Ace sobbed hysterically.

Thatch was horrified while Marco looked absolutely livid. "I was stupid," he said, doing his best to control his emotions. This was important. They needed to act as soon as possible. "I went after him. I was his commander, I should have seen it! I should have _known!_ And I went after him and I _lost,"_ he spat. "He turned me into the marines to become a warlord. I was tortured in Impel Down for three weeks. I was there with Jinbei. Everyone was so mad. Our family, our allies… there was a war, and everyone came for me. I was gonna be executed in front of the world. I drew that.

"That drawing was of the war at Marineford. Everyone was there. The admirals, you guys, Gramps, _Luffy!_ He broke into the prison to save me, and then showed up at Marineford. He was so injured and sick as he fought to save me! Pops, everyone, was getting so hurt. The Moby burnt into nothing." Neither of them interrupted them no matter how horrified or angry they were.

"Luffy did get to me. I was almost killed so many times and then he got me away. He got my cuffs unlocked. Everything was going right. But Pops stayed behind. And I was stupid and I wasted everyone's efforts!

"Akainu… he taunted me about Pops, and I took the bait like an idiot. He went after Luffy, and I shielded him. That picture - Akainu put a magma fist through my chest, and I died in Luffy's arms. He was crying, I promised him I wouldn't die, I died in his arms!" Ace curled in on himself, shaking with repressed sobs. "I died, and then I woke up here, with no memory. I came back after I died."

Marco and Thatch hugged Ace. "I'm sorry! It's all my fault, I should have seen it!"

" _No,_ Ace. It is not your fault that we didn't know about Teach. It's on us, we've been with him for so long, and we didn't see it. You've been commander less than two months, it was not on you to see this."

Ace whispered, "We have to lock him up, now. We have to take every precaution. It's still going to happen. It's all gonna happen unless we do something! My head feels fine, nothing has changed!" he exclaimed, and the other two realized what he meant. If there was no pain in his head, then he had not changed the course of time.

Teach would still get away with everything. "Why? Why did he do it?" Thatch asked, looking just as disturbed. He would die as well, after all.

"He told me. He was going to beat Pops. Kill him with his fruit, and he could have! That fruit is _evil!_ He said he was never family, he just stayed with us for the fruit! That's all he ever wanted!" Ace exclaimed.

Marco stood up, and said, "We'll lock him up right now and explain later. Don't attack him, Ace, or you'll be seen as the traitor. Thatch, stay with him in here." He had a hard and determined voice. "You both need to be calmed down, and seeing Teach won't help at all." Thatch and Ace both nodded.

The phoenix left the room, hands clenched in fists and shoulders aflame. "I'm sorry, Thatch. I failed everyone. I failed you. I couldn't even avenge your death," Ace whimpered.

Thatch hugged him, his traumatized little brother. "I don't blame you. It isn't your job to avenge me. No matter if you're his commander, we were the ones taken in the whole time. I'm sorry I died," he said, voice shaking. Ace winced.

"I was the one to find you," Ace whispered. "It was so horrible. I don't want it to happen again, no matter what. I can't lose any more brothers." They were quiet for a bit before there was a knock on the door.

"Are you guys okay?" Marco asked in concern. Both of them nodded, now more calm than just a bit ago. "Meeting time. I knocked Teach out, and now he chained in the brig. We're gonna have to explain everything since the beginning, Ace. In detail, okay? Some might not believe you, but we have to work as hard as we can to make them," he said in a determined voice. Ace nodded, and he and Thatch stood up.

Ace got the picture of his fatal wound and list, and Thatch got the drawing of the battle of Marineford. Both he and Thatch still looked a mess. Ace's eyes were still bright red and watery, and Thatch's nose was pink. Both of them had the posture of dead men walking. No horrible pun intended.

They walked into the meeting room, which was incredibly hostile. It wasn't what either of the upset commanders needed, but it was to be expected. When they saw the state of the two, though, the anger turned into genuine concern. Pops stood up, looking very worried, and Marco looked solemn and closed off. Marco, Thatch and Ace sat together, Thatch shoving Jozu out of his seat.

The larger commander didn't protest, seeing the state of Thatch and Ace. Marco offered to explain for Ace, who bit his lip but shook his head. He needed to explain. "Please, don't interrupt," Ace said, starting from the moment he woke up on the Moby Dick.

Through the hour long explanation, only a few of the commanders looked truly skeptical, but when Ace explained in more detail, and when he brought out the pictures, those who looked disbelieving looked more baffled. Haruta and Izo were steaming, many of the others with cold, angry expressions on. Maybe for Teach, maybe for Ace keeping all of this from them, he didn't know.

When he explained the war, and showed them the drawing he'd made months before, and then told them his gruesome death with the drawing of the wound that caused his agonizing death, they were horrified. "Pops can vouch for a lot of this. And he knows I drew this picture awhile ago."

Ace finally sat down, his explanation and confession finished. "It will all still happen somehow. I didn't feel the pain of changing something not meant to be changed. This is a big one, it will definitely cause pain," Ace said.

"This is how you predicted all of those occurrences? And knew more, how you saved Stefan, the maps… it explains it all," Izo said, the first to speak.

"This is madness," Vista said, and saw Ace bite his lip. "I am not calling you crazy, Ace. This is all just, so strange. I believe you, though. We know you wouldn't lie like this, and everything in your story adds up."

Many others nodded, or voiced sad agreement. Pops finally spoke. "I am so sorry, Ace. That you went through all of that. I believe everything you said," he said firmly.

Ace teared up. "He told me so many times that we were all his family. And he was lying to me, to us, the whole time. He didn't hesitate to kill Thatch or turn me in… he took joy in it, he laughed when he told me about his plan all along. He asked for me to join his crew," he spat out the last part, and the others looked disgusted.

"I'm sorry. You all went to war for me, and I wasted it all," Ace said quietly. "I shouldn't have let him get to me. He warped things, words people said. He got one of our allies to stab Pops for a lie. I - I won't say who, he tried to atone for it and Pops forgave him. But still. He's evil." The others agreed, and Pops said that Akainu was a government dog and was heartless.

Namur said, "We would go to war for any of us. We're not Teach, we _are_ your family." The others nodded. "We have to kill Teach to stop it all."

The moment the others nodded, Ace screamed and held his head, eventually banging it on the table because it hurt so much. But the others couldn't help but smile. It changed. At least a little. Once they killed Teach, it would all be over.

But then Ace went silent as memories forced themselves into his head. It wasn't as painful as before, and didn't take as long. "I… I remember."

"What?" Haruta asked.

"I remember the two years! I remember everything! My crew, our adventures!" he shouted, tears of happiness trailing down his cheeks. The others smiled for him, most likely glad something good had come of this situation.

Izo said, "Do you think you were meant to come back and focus on saving our situation, and that's why any distracting memories were taken from you?" Ace shrugged, but smiled, until the situation came back to him, and he lost it. He asked when they were going to kill Teach.

Pops sighed, and said, "Today. This needs to be dealt with immediately. I will not let all of my sons suffer because of one bad apple. Ace, was anybody else involved with Teach? Do you know for sure?"

Ace nodded, swearing that it had only been Teach, and he'd taken nobody with him or onto his new crew. The crew he would have had. He was smiling now, though. Everyone would be fine, be saved. Ace was so relieved. And wondered if the visions were over. There was nothing left to see, wasn't there? He'd seen it till his last moment. And his original memories had been returned to him after months.

Luffy, he would be safe. He wouldn't risk his life for Ace. But, they had to get to Alabasta. He remembered the date. He had another month to get there. Was that enough? Thatch thumped his back. "We'll get there in time," he said with a grin. "I think we'd all like to meet the little brother that fought the world to save you."

The commanders around him nodded, grinning though there was sadness on their faces. Ace had seen it all, he hated Teach. He felt no sadness over his death. He would relish in revenge. He didn't know what had happened after his death, but Pops was in bad condition. It would have been easy for Teach to come along and take advantage of it. He was scum like that.

They all headed down the three flights of stairs to the deepest part of the ship, and the most uncomfortable and unpleasant. The brig had not been used in ten years, according to Rayuko. Across the metal door to the brig was the storage for metal sheeting in case they needed a quick fix for a hole in the ship and didn't have the wood.

Ace had never been to the brig, so when he entered the cold, damp place with little source for light and the walls and floor made of metal, it was a bit of a shock. There were seven cells, but only one had anyone inside. When the traitor heard the door squeal open, old and unused, he looked furious and confused.

The commanders all stood in a line across from him, Pops in the middle. They all looked at him in disgust. Pops was the one to speak.

"Teach. What do you think of the dark dark fruit?" he asked in a flat voice. Teach's face lit up before he caught himself.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me?" he questioned, trying to sound confused.

"Because we all know what your plan has been. You want the dark dark fruit to challenge me. We know everything, and you will be executed for it, in effect immediately," Pops said coldly. The expression Teach ahd made showed that he wanted that fruit, and then he lied, covering up his reaction showed he was indeed guilty. That was what truly doomed him.

But he grew angry, scowling. "I haven't done anything! You can't kill me for something I haven't done!" he shouted furiously. It was weird, seeing him so angry. Then Ace remembered long ago, that he was pissy about something "not panning out" that he had wanted. Perhaps it was the fruit that caused that anger.

"We will kill you to stop what you planned in the future," Pops said, still sounding emotionless. "You are lucky we do not torture, no matter what." That was a policy. The Whitebeards did not torture. For any reason, even if Ace wished they would. For all of the pain this man put everyone through.

Teach looked livid, no longer playing innocent and confused. "How'd you know?!" he demanded. Nobody gave him the answer. There was no need to, he didn't deserve to know. Ace knowing it was him who took him down was enough, he didn't need to be insulted or hated for the small time this man had left of life.

Jozu said, "A deadman doesn't need to know," his deep voice, cold and disgusted. Thatch took Ace's arm, looping it around his own. Ace didn't resist, knowing thatch was probably a bit scared. There was no chance for Teach to kill him now, but he had almost died at the hands of this evil pig.

Ace was glad he didn't remember the pain of his death like he remembered his own. He was sure he'd be having nightmares for a while, but knew his brothers would be there for him, be understanding, even if he woke them up at night.

Teach was dragged out of his cell by his hair. They may not torture, but they didn't need to be gentle either. People were congregated, trying to find out why Marco had knocked out and dragged Teach to the brig. They all looked worried and confused.

"Someone go get chum," Pops ordered, and Haruta went hurrying inside. Thatch turned pale, and Ace realized they were going to bait sea kings and then give Teach to them. A terrifying way to go, but fitting for all he'd done and had no doubt done after Ace was gone.

Pirates desperately asked what was going on, so Pops announced that they found out Teach was a traitor. He didn't say anything else, didn't give the specifics, but also didn't lie to them. "You can't do it like this!" Teach shouted, and Ace was happy to hear him beg. He looked to the side to see Marco looked vindictive as well. They both wanted him to suffer, even if the actual death would not last long. The fear would be the best part.

"I don't want your blood spilled on this ship. I don't want any blood spilled on this ship," Whitebeard said coldly, and Ace felt Thatch's arm tighten around his own. Haruta came hurrying out with a bucket of bloody red meat. They used chum for bait when fishing, as it attracted bigger fish instead of worms or something like that.

It was usually in plastic bags in the freezer so they didn't spoil too quickly. Kingdew took the bucket and threw the contents a bit out into the water. Everyone watched nervously while the commanders coldly dealt with Teach, who was their brother and a good guy up until two hours ago.

It didn't take long for three sea kings to arrive, and start fighting over the chum. Teach didn't scream anymore, just glared furiously at all of them. Pops didn't do it, and Ace wasn't surprised, so Marco did, kicking Teach over the railing easily with one foot. The screams were brief as the sea kings gladly ate the live prey presented right to them.

Only a few watched, others turning away and leaving. Ace hugged Thatch and Marco tightly. "Thank you, for being with me from the start. You guys saved my sanity," he said. They both smiled and patted him back.

"You're our little brother, we'll always have your back. Now, let's head to see _your_ little brother," Thatch said.

Ace laughed, recalling the only funny or entertaining thing to happen during the war. "My brother stood up to Pops. He even yelled at him!" Ace exclaimed, telling them of when Whitebeard told Luffy he'd be useless there, and Luffy told him to shut up. And that _he'd_ be the king of the pirates. The three heard Pops laugh from afar, no doubt hearing since Ace had said it loudly.

"What a cheeky brat." Ace smiled, remembering that was what he'd said to Luffy in the future that would not happen. Ace prevented it, and if he had to, he'd die happy. But, he wasn't going to die. Not anytime soon. He wanted to live, no matter what. Almost dying at marineford and then learning of his actual death made him appreciate life much more than before.

After that, the crew who didn't know what happened were sad. Ace's division went through the most grief, and he had to work to sympathize with them through his utter hate of their former false-brother. But, he cared for his division, and was there for him like their commander should be. Like a brother should be.

Ace had long talks with the Spades about his returned memories. Deuce knew the full story, but the others didn't. Nobody but the captain, commanders and Deuce knew what had actually happened. Ace was the person he had been and who he was. He realized that maintaining his distance from the Spades was unnecessary. He was pretty much the same person as he was before in the end. He was confused and meek in the beginning, but before he became a commander, he was pretty much the same person he'd been. He was thankful for their understanding.

The rest of Ace's life went by the way a normal person's would. Well, a normal pirate. There were no more visions. He'd seen everything he felt he was meant to see. Something sent him back to make things right. To save lives that deserved to be saved over someone like Teach. It had been a slow process, but once the process was done, Ace was no longer psychic.

He was still skilled in the things that had come from his brief time as a psychic/time traveler, but no more spoilers came to him. He got to enjoy Luffy's escapades as they happened. It was wonderful to live in the moment, not knowing when something horrible was about to approach you.

Life was good, and Ace and Thatch would appreciate it anew. Both of them would live, no matter if the world once doomed them to do otherwise.

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**I had so many people on ao3 freaking out and thinking I'd kill Thatch in the end. I would never do that! So, happy ending. Teach is gone, everyone lives! And Ace's life can be more normal now that he won't have those visions and can now remember his missing two years. So, happy ending all around! I hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading till the end! I will be posting a new story today. Most likely not one of my crossovers. So, look forward to that! And there will be no sequel to this. Use your imagination on how Ace was sent back!**

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**Biefa_Less/iMeshls/Guest 3: There's no way I'd tease this having to do with the whole Teach betrayal mess by letting Thatch die. I may kill off children sometimes, but I'm not cruel enough to do _that._ So, everyone lives!**

**Carimes_treehouse: I hope you liked how it was wrapped up! No need to feel dread, but I'm glad I got people emotional!**

**chalmao: Thank you! I didn't kill Thatch, our angel is safe.**

**OtakuPie: I feel like everybody was expecting so much more than the ending I made. Lol, like a battle or some epic shit. But it was just Ace's power finally doing what it'd been there for all along.**

**Anime_MoonOO: I'm glad I manipulate emotions sometimes. Often it doesn't work, but I'm glad it did for the last chapter. And I only just realized that the last two "o"s on your name are capitalized. Or are they double zeros?**

**Orange: Don't worry, your poem wasn't cringey. I used to write some but they were all about murder and death and depression and other sad shit lol. And you have no idea how much I write, omg. I'm literally sitting on 8 fanfictions that collectively are over 850,000 words. Lots to post, so nobody will run out of my stories for awhile lol.**

**Trying_To_Be_Happy: !@#$#T@!E@#T%U &EDFDHRYI*&O*(_{)_(&&^*%!@$#!$ (why use only letters? lol. Gibberish with numbers AND symbols.)**


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